Pennsylvania's hospitals are fighting to sideline a bill which would make them report on hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) through a single statewide electronic system. Establishing such a system is one of a group of health reform initiatives Governor Ed Rendell (D) is trying to implement. Rendell has said that HAIs generated $3.5 billion in charges last year. According to the state's Health Care Cost Containment Council, 19,000 patients suffered from HAIs in 2005, or about 1 percent of the patients studied. While the state's hospitals don't object to efforts focused on cutting HAIs, implementing the electronic reporting system will be too expensive for small facilities, according to the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania.
To get more information on the controversy:
- read this Associated Press piece