Hospital PICC Safety Initiative to Eliminate Bloodstream Infections
A safety initiative to reduce bloodstream infections in intensive
care units was implemented in 30 states this past February. The program could save an estimated $3 billion dollars and 30,000 lives on an annual basis. The program has also been launched globally in Spain and the United Kingdom.
"We ran this program in 77 hospitals and 103 intensive care units in Michigan for 18 months, and infection rates dropped 66 percent," said Peter Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Quality and Safety Research Group (QRSG) in a press release. "As a result, $200 million and an estimated 2,000 lives were saved. I'm confident we'll see a similar result nationwide."
The program is based on a checklist containing five important steps that should be followed when placing a central line catheter. These catheters are typically used for patients in the Intensive Care Unit to administer fluids or medications, obtain blood and directly take measurements such as central venous blood pressure. For more information on the study, read the press release
here.
Photo Credit:
Hokkey