A recent study showed that healthcare-associated infections (HAI) have decreased by 16% in the United States, comparing 2015 to 2011[1].
In 2011, 11,282 patients in 183 hospitals were surveyed, and 4.0% of them had an HAI. In 2015, 12,299 patients in 199 hospitals were surveyed, and 3.2% of them had an HAI. This is a 16% decrease. It means that the odds of a patient having an HAI on any given day has dropped from one in 25 to one in 31.
The decline is attributed to fewer surgical site infections (SSI) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). That said, SSIs were still among the most likely HAIs in 2015, along with pneumonia and gastrointestinal infections (primarily C. diff).
While it’s a positive sign that HAIs are decreasing, it’s not happening fast enough. Hundreds of thousands of patients are still catching infections every year. Tens of thousands are still dying. Those that don’t die often suffer – sometimes their health and finances are compromised for the rest of their lives.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Our electronic hand hygiene reminder system has reduced HAIs by an average of over 60% in every hospital that has installed our technology and followed our process for six months. If you’d like to learn more, download our whitepaper to discover the process. Or here’s a brief video about how the system works.
[1] Magill, S., O’Leary, E., Janelle, S., Thompson, D., Dumyati, G., Nadle, J., Wilson, L., Kainer, M., Lynfield, R., Greissman, S., Ray, S., Beldavs, Z., Gross, C., Bamberg, W., Sievers, M., Concannon, C., Buhr, N., Warnke, L., Maloney, M., Ocampo, V., Brooks, J., Oyewumi, T., Sharmin, S., Richards, K., Rainbow, J., Samper, M., Hancock, E., Leaptrot, D., Scalise, E., Badrun, F., Phelps, R. and Edwards, J. (2018). Changes in Prevalence of Health Care–Associated Infections in U.S. Hospitals. New England Journal of Medicine, 379(18), pp.1732-1744.
