The data in Pennsylvania for infections aquired through non-related hospital procedures is dramatically skewed to the Southwest, with a reported 2,054 infections in Southwest Pennsylvania and 149 infections reported in the Southeast, near the Philadelphia area.
Despite the sunny side of this report, it may also indicate that the real problem in Pennsylvania lies in the Philadelphia-area hospital system of reporting infections. “That number is certainly low and out of line with the rest of the state,” according to P.J. Brennan, chief medical officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Brennan said that hospitals in the Philadelphia area “are not thinking enough about health-care-aquired infections as patient-safety issues.” The reason for the lack of infection records in the area is more than likely due to fear of litigation – Philadelphia area doctors and hospitals have already suffered rising insurance costs and have become wary of reporting errors to safety authorities for fear of opening more expensive lawsuits.
Ironically, this could turn out to be a point of valid arguement in future litigations against the Philadelphia health system, as a lack of reporting could lead to a serious lack of infection elimination. The first step to elimination hospital infections is reporting them so that they can be analyzed. It has been proven that hospitals that report infections more frequently are more likely to be rid of them.
If you or someone you know has been injured by medical malpractice or hospital infections, please contact a personal injury attorney such as Pomerantz, Perlberger and Lewis of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
