Suing hospitals for damages just got easier with the US Joint Commission's release of the compendium on combating healthcare-acquired infections.

Dr. Betsy McCaughey, Founder/Chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths and a former Lieutenant Governor of New York State, says: "It adds to the growing evidence that infections are preventable when hospitals adhere to proven best practices. Hospital infection is the next asbestos, the next major cause of class action lawsuits, and the compendium will be the trial lawyer's bible."

Hospitals that fail to adhere to the guidelines in the compendium will be vulnerable to legal action and will end up paying huge damage awards. The compendium confirms that infection is no longer an inevitable risk patients accept by going to the hospital.

Dr. McCaughey commends the content of the compendium as a helpful synthesis of the current scientific knowledge, but emphasises that the participation of the AHA and the Joint Commission is significant. "We have the knowledge to prevent infections. What is lacking is the will," she says.

But it's not just government agencies, hospital administrators and caretakers who will have to get involved to prevent infections. Patients and families will have to overcome white-coat fear and demand that medical professionals follow proper hygiene procedures.

Hospital infections kill over 100,000 Americans each year - more than AIDS, breast cancer and auto accidents combined. These infections add an estimated $30.5 billion to the nation's hospital costs each year.

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