Maria Shepherd04.09.12
Trends in Hospital Acquired Infections: The Good, the Bad and the Opportunity
When infections are contracted in hospitals, they are called nosocomial infections, and they are estimated as the fourth-largest killer every year in the United States. There are an average of 40 million U.S. hospital admissions each year, and the nosocomial infection rate is projected at 5 percent of admissions.1
Why It’s Important
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that approximately one-third of U.S. nosocomial infections are preventable, which represents approximately 6.6 million cases. Of these, approximately 94,000 are due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a type of bacteria that does not respond to some antibiotics that commonly are used to treat staph infections. Nearly 100,000 people die each year from nosocomial infection, and 20 percent (20,000) of these deaths are attributed to MRSA infection. Nosocomial infections in the European Union are estimated at 4 million, with approximately 150,000 patient deaths reported each year.2 Between 115,000 and 125,000 visits to U.S. emergency departments are reported annually for nosocomial infections and 12-13 percent of these visits are serious enough to result in hospital admissions. This equals approximately 15,600 unnecessary hospitalizations each year.
The Good News
Four common infections from healthcare facilities were reported to be declining in 2010.3 (See the chart below for more infomation.)
The Bad News
The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council has been collecting hospital infection data since 2004. The group estimates that insurance companies pay up to seven times more for the care of patients with nosocomial infections than for those who don’t contract infections in the hospital. In their 2004 data collection, the council calculated 11,688 hospital-acquired infections in Pennsylvania.
These infections were associated with 1,793 deaths, approximately 205,000 extra hospital days and $2 million in additional hospital costs.4 Extrapolating to the entire United States, this could represent unnecessary costs of as much as $100 million for the healthcare system.
The other bad news for U.S. patients? In a 2009 poll of members of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control, 41 percent of respondents (n=1,900) said that their hospital had reductions in staffing in the past 18 months.5 A total of 32 percent of respondents said that staffing or resource reductions have reduced their capacity to focus on infection prevention.
The Opportunity
It is almost a no-brainer. Making medical devices infection resistant and reducing the number of nosocomial infections could provide an improved clinical outcome and an economic benefit in the United States of up to $100 million. Global figures are a forceful multiplier of this savings. Look for infection control opportunities in your product line and see how you can make your medical
device more competitive and a win-win for everyone.
References:
Editor’s note: Readers are invited to submit market data and trend questions to Maria Shepherd. Periodically, selected questions will be presented in this column, with answers from Maria. Send your
questions to the email in her bio (below).
Maria Shepherd, founder of Data Decision Group, has 20 years of leadership experience in medical device and life-sciences marketing. Her firm quantitatively and qualitatively sizes opportunities, evaluates new technologies, and assesses prospective acquisitions for medtech companies. She can be reached at (617) 548-9892 and mshepherd@ddecisiongroup.com.
When infections are contracted in hospitals, they are called nosocomial infections, and they are estimated as the fourth-largest killer every year in the United States. There are an average of 40 million U.S. hospital admissions each year, and the nosocomial infection rate is projected at 5 percent of admissions.1
Why It’s Important
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that approximately one-third of U.S. nosocomial infections are preventable, which represents approximately 6.6 million cases. Of these, approximately 94,000 are due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a type of bacteria that does not respond to some antibiotics that commonly are used to treat staph infections. Nearly 100,000 people die each year from nosocomial infection, and 20 percent (20,000) of these deaths are attributed to MRSA infection. Nosocomial infections in the European Union are estimated at 4 million, with approximately 150,000 patient deaths reported each year.2 Between 115,000 and 125,000 visits to U.S. emergency departments are reported annually for nosocomial infections and 12-13 percent of these visits are serious enough to result in hospital admissions. This equals approximately 15,600 unnecessary hospitalizations each year.
The Good News
Four common infections from healthcare facilities were reported to be declining in 2010.3 (See the chart below for more infomation.)
The Bad News
The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council has been collecting hospital infection data since 2004. The group estimates that insurance companies pay up to seven times more for the care of patients with nosocomial infections than for those who don’t contract infections in the hospital. In their 2004 data collection, the council calculated 11,688 hospital-acquired infections in Pennsylvania.
These infections were associated with 1,793 deaths, approximately 205,000 extra hospital days and $2 million in additional hospital costs.4 Extrapolating to the entire United States, this could represent unnecessary costs of as much as $100 million for the healthcare system.
The other bad news for U.S. patients? In a 2009 poll of members of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control, 41 percent of respondents (n=1,900) said that their hospital had reductions in staffing in the past 18 months.5 A total of 32 percent of respondents said that staffing or resource reductions have reduced their capacity to focus on infection prevention.
The Opportunity
It is almost a no-brainer. Making medical devices infection resistant and reducing the number of nosocomial infections could provide an improved clinical outcome and an economic benefit in the United States of up to $100 million. Global figures are a forceful multiplier of this savings. Look for infection control opportunities in your product line and see how you can make your medical
device more competitive and a win-win for everyone.
References:
- www.kaloramainformation.com/Hospital-Acquired-Infection-6450720/
- www.genengnews.com/gen-articles/hospital-acquired-infection-market-rebounds/3804/
- www.hhnmag.com, December 2011
- www.hhnmag.com/hhnmag_app/jsp/articledisplay.jsp?dcrpath=HHNMAG/PubsNewsArticle/data/2006September/0609HHN_CoverStory&domain=HHNMAG
- www.hhnmag.com/hhnmag_app/jsp/articledisplay.jsp?dcrpath=HHNMAG/Article/data/07JUL2009/0907HHN_Scope_datadig&domain=HHNMAG
Editor’s note: Readers are invited to submit market data and trend questions to Maria Shepherd. Periodically, selected questions will be presented in this column, with answers from Maria. Send your
questions to the email in her bio (below).
Maria Shepherd, founder of Data Decision Group, has 20 years of leadership experience in medical device and life-sciences marketing. Her firm quantitatively and qualitatively sizes opportunities, evaluates new technologies, and assesses prospective acquisitions for medtech companies. She can be reached at (617) 548-9892 and mshepherd@ddecisiongroup.com.