Hospital-acquired infections take toll on bottom lines – USATODAY.com

One of the problems that hospitals are trying to reduce, through lean methods and other good standard practices, is hospital-acquired infections — known as “nosocomial infections.”

Obviously, health providers have incentives to prevent infections because it’s the right thing for the patient. In some cases, people have wondered if there’s a potential financial loss from doing so. It would really be a perverse incentive if a hospital made more money from a patient getting an infection because the hospital would get paid for getting rid of the infection.

The article above points out a study where it shows hospitals LOSE money from nosocomial infections because their costs go up way more than any increased reimbursement they might get from the payer.

I’m glad that the general lean mindset of “Quality is Free” should also apply to healthcare. We have to work not just accept these infections as something that’s just bound to happen. Basic “standard work” such as increased hand washing can go a long way in preventing these infections.

“Hospital-acquired infection is not an anticipated byproduct of taking care of the very ill,” says David Nash, editor of the journal and chairman of the Department of Health Policy at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. “It’s a failure in the process of how medical care is delivered.”

We have to think of defects in any system this same way…. it’s not just bound to happen, it’s a defect in the process, something that we have to fix.

About LeanBlog.org: Mark Graban is a consultant, author, and speaker in the “lean healthcare” methodology, focused on improving quality and patient safety, improving access, reducing costs, and fully engaging healthcare professionals. He is also the Chief Improvement Officer for KaiNexus.

Tagged as: Healthcare