Personal Injury Law

Raising Awareness About Vital Illinois Medical Malpractice Issue?Hospital Acquired Infections

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

Medical malpractice takes many forms, but one of the most common is hospital acquired infections?also known as Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs). These represent infections that a patient contracts while undergoing medical treatment. It represents a medical problem that they did not have before they began seeking treatment for some other ailment. Patients contract the infections in a number of medical settings, including during surgeries, while on ventilators, or any time there is contact from one person/equipment to another.

The scope of the problem is much larger than most suspect, according to HAI Watch. The World Health Organization reports that at any given time 1.4 million people are suffering from an infection they received because of their effort to receive medical treatment. The severity of the infections is also startling. The Centers for Disease Control claims that over 98,000 people die each year in the United States alone from infections they acquired while at hospitals. This is not a problem that anyone can afford to ignore.

Medical safety experts have worked hard at identifying the root cause of these infections and the best ways to snuff them out. Research is clear that to minimize the problem medical professionals must pay particular attention to the best infection management strategies. These strategies are varied, but typically involve simple checklist style requirements like hand washing and proper equipment sterilization.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on January 27, 2011 (boomark / email).