Many hospitals in Illinois have dealt with higher than normal infection rates among their patients. Because the problem is so severe, many of them get penalized in some way. This can include things like fines or disciplinary actions taken against the staff. Here’s why it’s crucial for hospitals to keep their infection rates low.
Patient suffering
When a patient comes to the hospital for an injury or illness, they really can’t handle getting an infection on top of it. This can lead to difficulties dealing with their original injury or illness and can make them suffer even more. Even minor things often become difficult to treat once an infection sets in.
Medical malpractice
Many hospitals have faced lawsuits dealing with medical malpractice because a patient got an infection during their hospital stay. These types of cases can cost a hospital millions of dollars. This is why may hospitals are striving to lower their infection rates at any means necessary in order to lessen the amount of lawsuits that they face every single year.
What’s being done to deal with infection rates
The Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program has reduced 1% of medicare payments for hospitals that have high infection rates. Medicare payments provide a substantial amount of funding to hospitals, and the hope is that many of these hospitals will start to take better initiatives to lower infection rates so that they can receive all of their medicare funding.
If you got an infection while you were in the hospital, you aren’t alone. Many individuals do get these types of infections every year, but you may be able to take legal action against the doctor or hospital that treated you. It’s imperative that you seek legal counsel as soon as possible so that you can figure out what your next steps should be.
