Eighty Seven percent of U.S. hospitals do not have all of the recommended policies in place to prevent many of the most common healthcare-acquired infections, according to Leapfrog's Hospital Quality and Safety Survey, set to be released on September 18, 2007.
According to the survey, an annual rating system that provides an assessment of a hospital's quality and safety practices, two million people a year contract an infection during care. In addition, hospital acquired infections (HAI) add an average of over $15,000 to a patient's hospital bill, amounting to over $30 billion a year, contends the organization.
The Leapfrog Group (Washington), representing major corporations and public agencies that buy health benefits, says it finds an alarmingly low level of full compliance with any of its recommended standards for preventing certain avoidable infections.
