International Infection Prevention Infection Week in this country was established 36 years ago. This year’s observance was October 16-22.
One out of every 31 hospital patients suffers a hospital-acquired infection (HAI), a potentially serious medical error. HAIs reportedly kill tens of thousands of patients every year in the United States.
Common Serious Hospital-Acquired Infections
HAIs occur during a hospital stay or within 30 days after discharge. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it monitors specific HAIs due to their threats to patient safety ...
The U.S. Department of Transportation has deemed October National Pedestrian Safety Month. A review of pedestrian fatalities in recent years reinforces the importance of this awareness effort. The number of pedestrians killed in motor vehicle accidents is markedly on the rise.
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 6,100 pedestrians were killed in 2020, a nearly 4% increase over the year prior. In 2020, one pedestrian was hit and killed every 81 minutes.
Almost a quarter of all pedestrians who died in a traffic crash in 2020 were ...
Medication errors are preventable yet injure over 1 million patients in the United States every year. One-fourth of those patients experience life-threatening injuries.
These facts come from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to prevent medication errors. ISMP collaborated with the World Health Organization to promote World Patient Safety Day on September 17. The annual one-day observance serves to educate the public on serious medical errors, with a particular emphasis this year on drug administration mistakes.