First state report on hospital-acquired infections

Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) discloses in a research brief that 11,668 confirmed hospital-acquired infections in 2004 resulted in 1,793 preventable deaths, 205,000 extra hospital days and an extra $2 billion in hospital charges. Washington Post news article quotes Marc P. Volavka, executive director of PHC4, as saying, "Pennsylvania is 4 percent of the population, which means you may have an additional 100 people dying per day," nationwide because of hospital-acquired infections. "That comes to an additional $50 billion" in medical charges in the United States annually.

Pennsylvania is the first state to begin collecting and reporting the hospital-acquired infections data. The Post reports:

Several other states, including Virginia, have passed laws requiring similar reporting by hospitals. Thirty states, including Maryland, are considering similar legislation but do not currently collect data on hospital-acquired infections.

Research Brief - Hospital-Acquired Infections in Pennsylvania
(available in PDF, 108K, from PHC4)