Tuesday, August 11, 2009
(photo: WHO)
Eliminating billions of dollars in expenses from the healthcare system isn’t entirely dependent on Congress and the president to hammer out a complicated reform measure. According to a new report by the advocacy group Public Citizen, the nation could trim as much as $35 billion off its medical bills, and save thousands of lives, by implementing “chronically recurring, avoidable medical errors.”
Some of the changes are as simple as getting health practitioners to consistently wash their hands to avoid causing infections or spreading of viruses. Others involve properly tending to patients to prevent bed sores, or consistently following safety checklists to prevent infections and complications that arise after surgeries.
Public Citizen’s top 10 ways to save a total of 85,000 lives and $35 billion annually are:
1. Reduce avoidable deaths and injuries resulting from surgical procedures ($20 billion);
2. Prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia (32,000 lives; $900 million);
3. Prevent pressure ulcers (14,071 lives; $5.5 billion);
4. Implement safeguards and quality control measures to reduce medication errors (4,620 lives; $2.3 billion);
5. Prevent patient falls in health care facilities ($1.5 billion);
6. Prevent catheter infections (15,680 lives; $1.3 billion);
7. Modestly improve nurse staffing ratios (5,000 lives; $242 million);
8. Permit standing orders to increase flu and pneumococcal vaccinations in the elderly (9,250 lives; $545 million);
9. Use beta-blockers after heart attacks (3,600 lives; $900,000);
10. Increase use of advanced care planning ($3.2 billion).
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Basic Patient Safety Reforms Would Save 85,000 Lives and $35 Billion a Year, Public Citizen Report Says (Public Citizen press release)
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