The alarmingly high number of life-threatening infections occurring in U.S. hospitals has prompted medical staffs and state lawmakers to focus on better awareness and take steps to reduce the spread. ”For too long” hospitals and dialysis centers ”have kept patient infections a dirty secret,” said Lisa McGiffert, director of Consumer Union’s Stop Hospital Infections campaign. ”But now, more states are moving to make infection rates public, so consumers can make smarter health care choices, and hospitals have a stronger incentive to improve patient care.”-Washington Times, by Joyce Howard Price
Do you suppose there’s a correlation between the rise in infections and the open policy regarding visitors that most hospitals adopted about thirty years ago? When I was a kid the rules regarding visiting hours, which were few, were strictly enforced and children under twelve were not allowed in patients rooms.