This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah is a step closer to joining a dozen other states that require hospitals to publicly report their infection rates, with a bill that won unanimous committee approval on Tuesday.
HB55 would require all hospitals and outpatient surgical centers to report to the Utah Department of Health a slew of hospital-borne infections as defined by the federal health officials. The department would publish the data on its website, naming hospitals but giving them 30 days to contest any errors.
The legislation would add at least $180,000 in costs to the department, which is tasked with investigating infections.
Some lawmakers wondered whether that's too high a price, considering hospitals already report this information to the federal government.
But that data isn't published in an easily understandable format, said sponsoring Rep. Jack Draxler, R-North Logan. "If you talk to patients, you'll find there's anxiety out there and a need for greater transparency."
One in seven Medicare patients are hurt or killed by medical errors each year, costing the government $4.4 billion, according to a recent report by the Office of the Inspector General in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.