June 22, 2005
Media Contact: Paul Lyon, Executive Director, (570) 574-3089
CJA Supports Bills To Fight Hospital-Acquired Infections
KINGSTON – The Committee for Justice for All voiced its strong support for a bill introduced today by Pennsylvania Rep. Tony DeLuca, which would require hospitals to post information about incidents of hospital-related infections and require the information to be provided to patients and insurers.
“If doctors and hospitals want to reduce the number of lawsuits, they need to focus on improving patient safety, not taking away the Constitutional rights of seriously injured patients,” said CJA Executive Director Paul Lyon. “Rep. DeLuca should be commended for shining a public spotlight on the issue of hospital-acquired infections, which are a rampant epidemic in the United States.”
Hospital-acquired infections kill an estimated 103,000 people in the United States annually, as many as AIDS, breast cancer and auto accidents combined. More than half of those infections may be preventable, experts say.
CJA also reiterated its support for HB 743, a bill introduced by Rep. Phyllis Mundy. HB 743 would cut malpractice insurance premiums for health-care providers who implement state-of-the-art quality-management systems, which have been shown to substantially reduce the incidence of medical errors, hospital-acquired infections and other poor-quality care. It is estimated that such quality-management systems, long ago embraced by the nation’s industrial sector, could reduce health-care costs by 30 to 50 percent.
“If the state Legislature would pass the bills proposed by Reps. DeLuca and Mundy, they would move the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania a quantum leap forward in solving the state’s much-debated medical malpractice woes,” said Lyon. “Unfortunately, the majority seems much more interested in shielding doctors, hospitals and big business from liability by taking away victims’ rights than they do about any kind of meaningful reform.”
CJA is a nonprofit Northeastern Pennsylvania advocacy group fighting to preserve the integrity of the civil justice system and the Constitutional right of all Americans to trial by a jury of their peers. For more information, please visit our web site at www.saynotocaps.org.
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