Health reform was a huge battle – and major victory – because it took Congress to pass groundbreaking new laws to get insurance companies to do right by patients. But change doesn’t always require Washington passing a law. Sometimes we just need common sense.
More than 30,000 Americans die every year from bloodstream infections they get from catheters while in the hospital. And recently, federal researchers reported that rate is rising. But a leading Johns Hopkins doctor has developed a simple checklist that when used, could cut these types of infections by two-thirds. Some hospitals have even eliminated these kinds of infections for periods of time using the checklist.
If all hospitals followed this checklist, we could save tens of thousands of lives each year and billions of dollars. It works. It's voluntary. Yet most hospitals don’t do it, because they haven’t been pressured to implement it. That’s where you come in.
Urge your state lawmakers to use their influence to get your hospital to use the checklist!
When physicians provide poor quality care, their patients are typically the last to know. Some physician backgrounds may be available in your state, but can you tell which ones have the most complaints, malpractice claims or disciplinary actions? Knowing the background information on your doctor could save your life.
Americans have suffered and lost their lives because they are not given ALL information about risks by either manufacturers or the FDA. Pharmaceutical companies should be accountable for safety problems, and not keep drug risks hidden from the public. Medical device companies should respond to malfunctioning implants.
Hospital acquired infections are a leading cause of death in the U.S. Consumers Union supports public disclosure of infection rates so that you can choose the safest hospital and hospitals will have an incentive to improve.
Wrong surgery, wrong medication, serious bedsores... Unsafe practices and poor quality care kill 98,000 patients each year and waste billions of dollars every year. What information do you have about the safety of your hospital? What protections do you have if the hospital makes a mistake with you?
