In a recent email inquiry, someone asked if it would be safer to have tubal reversal surgery in a hospital. My response – “It is much safer to have tubal reversal surgery performed at A Personal Choice than in a hospital.”
Infection and Medication Error Risks in Hospitals
Roughly 100,000 people wind up with a potentially deadly infection during hospital treatment in the US each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Hospital-acquired infections (also called “nosocomial” infections) are particularly dangerous, since hospital germs are especially resistant to antibiotics. One example in the news recently is the bacteria called methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Most of these dangerous bacteria are transmitted by hospital staff from other patients. In addition, hospital patients get the wrong drug one time out of five, according to a study by Auburn University.
Patient-safety incidents continue to rise in American hospitals. The largest increases involve hospital-acquired infections and post operative sepsis (overwhelming infection).
A Chicago Tribune study revealed that serious violations of infection-control standards have been found in the vast majority of hospitals nationally. Since 1995, more than 75 percent of all hospitals have been cited for significant cleanliness and sanitation violations. This report says:
A hidden epidemic of life-threatening infections is contaminating America’s hospitals, needlessly killing tens of thousands of patients each year. Nearly three-quarters of the deadly infections are preventable, the result of unsanitary facilities, germ-laden instruments, unwashed hands and other lapses.
Deaths linked to hospital germs represent the fourth leading cause of mortality among Americans, behind heart disease, cancer and strokes, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These infections kill more people each year than car accidents, fires and drowning combined.
“The number of people needlessly killed by hospital infections is unbelievable, but the public doesn’t know anything about it,” said Dr. Barry Farr, a leading infection-control expert and president of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
Dr. Berger’s Comment
When it comes to cleanliness and strict adherence to infection control procedures, there is no medical or surgical facility better than A Personal Choice. Our patients often comment about the meticulous nature of our facility. It is clean, orderly, and uncluttered. We are obsessive about this.
The idea that it may be safer to have elective surgery in a hospital is wrong. Hospitals are the right place for treating complicated medical or surgical problems, but they are not the best place for healthy people to have tubal reversal surgery!
Note
Dr. Berger was an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
