According to a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine, about 1 in 25 hospital patients acquired an infection in 2011. That year, patients acquired nearly 722,000 infections at hospitals, according to the research.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that of those that were infected, about 75,000 died. The most common types of infection were pneumonia and surgical-site infections, both of which accounted for about 22% of all infections, followed by gastrointestinal infections, urinary tract infections and infections in the bloodstream.

While bloodstream infections from central lines (lines inserted in the chest and into the vein) dropped by 44% between 2008 and 2012 after hospitals required that staff followed a checklist of best practices, C. difficile infections have gotten worse in the last decade.

Hospital Infection Rates Vary Significantly

Hospital infection rates vary from state-to-state, and even neighboring hospitals. Some hospitals are doing a great job, while other facilities could be having issues due to staffing and resources.

Dr. Peter Pronovost, the director of the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality at Johns Hopkins suggests that people should research the infection rates at hospitals on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services hospital comparison website before choosing a hospital, if possible.

Pronovost said that patients can hold hospital staff accountable by asking doctors and nurses to wash their hands when they enter the room. They can also inquire about the timing of medical devices and catheters – common sources of infection – and ask that they be removed at the appropriate time.

Even though some hospitals have low infection rates, there are still pockets of hospitals with high rates of infection that are much greater than the national average. Hospitals with high infection rates need to be held accountable, and the best way to do this is to seek out the help of a good personal injury lawyer.