According to the Las Vegas Sun, the Nevada State Board of Health is divided as to whether they should inform the public when patients contract lethal "superbugs" from specific Nevada hospitals. Some on the board opt for transparency, believing that revealing the problems will force officials to address them. And others oppose this patient-centered view.
The discussion revolved around proposed regulations stemming from a law passed during the 2009 Legislature. The new law mandates that health care facilities report certain infections, including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aurerus, also known as MRSA, to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This information would allow the Nevada State Health Division to access the information to track infections. But under the new law, this information would not be available to the public, thus not allowing people to identify the number of infections at a particular hospital.
Those opposed to making this information public included hospital lobbyists and public health and infectious disease specialists. On the side of transparency were insurance lobbyists, a state lawmaker and families of patients who had been infected with drug-resistant bacteria while hospitalized. Some individuals questioned whether allowing hospitals to self-report was a good idea for patients in the first place.
The Board Members did not make any substantive comments on transparency during the debate and as a result voted unanimously to adopt the regulations. Ultimately, Nevada hospitals will report infectious diseases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but the general public will have no idea what risks are lurking in each hospital. This could potentially put hospitals and practitioners at risk for medical malpractice suits from patients who contract these potentially deadly diseases while being hospitalized.
Source: Las Vegas Sun "Health board backs limits on disclosure of infections" 08/14/2010
