Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hospital-Acquired Infection Rates Fall Back To Pre-Pandemic Levels
Hospital-acquired infections, which became substantially more common during the pandemic, have returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report from a patient safety watchdog group. It's key to note, researchers say, that infection rates before March 2020 were nothing to celebrate. On top of that moderately good news, the Leapfrog Group found other metrics that measure patient safety and satisfaction have fallen significantly, likely because of hospital staffing shortages and other pandemic-era challenges. (Weintraub, 11/6)
The pandemic-era data had raised alarm bells about a possible reversal in the hospital industry's yearslong progress against preventable and often dangerous infections acquired during the course of a patient's care. "This new data reassures us that, in fact, it was a blip, and hospitals are very quickly reducing the rate of infection, and very successfully getting it down," Leapfrog CEO Leah Binder told Axios. (Reed, 11/6)
Utah was the state with the highest percentages of “A” hospitals, with around 52% earning top marks. Vermont, Wyoming, Delaware, North Dakota and Washington, D.C., fared the worst, with no hospitals receiving "A" grades. All states saw significant decreases in patient experience scores between the fall of 2021 and the fall of 2023, with hospitals in New Mexico, New Hampshire and Florida experiencing the most significant declines. Of the 38 hospitals that dropped two letter grades, most went from an "A" to a "C," like Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento, California, and SSM Health St. Clare Hospital in Fenton, Missouri. Only one facility, Memorial Hospital of Gardena, California, went from a "C" to an "F." (Devereaux, 11/4)
The Cleveland Clinic hospital system earned the most “A” grades for patient safety in Greater Cleveland in the Leapfrog Group’s fall 2023 Hospital Safety Grades, the nonprofit announced Monday. The Clinic earned high marks for protecting patients against hospital infections, ensuring effective communication from physicians and nurses, giving clear discharge information and other categories that affect patient safety, according to Leapfrog, a national nonprofit that works to increase patient safety in hospitals. (Washington, 11/6)
