Study: Hospitals struggle with infection control

The vast majority of hospitals don't take all of the recommended steps needed to prevent hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), according to a new survey by Leapfrog Group. To draw this conclusion, group surveyed 1,256 hospitals, asking about three common infections and how the facilities handled those infections. All told, 87 percent of hospitals failed to comply with protocols for preventing all three forms of HAI.

Leapfrog concluded that 38.5 percent of hospitals followed all guidelines for avoiding aspiration- and ventilator-associated pneumonia, 35.4 percent for central venous catheter-related bloodstream infection, and 32.3 percent for surgical-site infection. (Meanwhile, 35.6 percent of hospitals met hand-hygiene standards, and 30.7 percent vaccinated staff against the flu.)

To learn more about the survey:
- read this Modern Healthcare article

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