USA: Time for a little self-promotion. Yesterday the HealthCare PSI Team began a new campaign aimed at informing the public about the dangers posed by hospital care. Over the last 40 years, our nation’s hospitals have been slow – make that three-toed-sloth-slow – to implement meaningful measures to improve the quality of patient care. In fact, the latest government data released shows that patient safety is actually getting worse, not better. 1 in 3 patients is now harmed by the hospital care they receive. 1000 patients die each day from a combination of preventable mistakes and hospital-acquired infections. (I know the industry prefers the term healthcare-acquired infections but let’s face it – most of these deadly superbugs are contracted in a hospital.)
We believe it is impractical, detrimental to the public health and, frankly insane to expect an industry who profits from harming its customers to set its own standard for improvement, and the pace at which that improvement will be seen. Time to apply some broad-based public pressure. Hey, it is working for the tobacco industry. It’ll work for the healthcare industry, too.
We’ve begun a petition drive aimed at changing the way hospitals are allowed to advertise their services. It’s called The Hospital Truth In Advertising Campaign (sorry, we couldn’t come up with a nifty anagram.) The objective is simple: all hospital messaging to the public should come with image-enhanced warning labels, similar to those that will be required on cigarettes and tobacco products next year. Both industries are responsible for massive numbers of preventable deaths; both pose a direct threat to the public health.
Yes, it’s a provocative campaign – hospitals as public health menaces. But the data is out and it is shocking. The time for politely clapping when some small patient safety success is announced is over. The situation calls for bolder initiatives that involve the public. The Hospital Truth In Advertising Campaign seems a good place to start.
Click this link to visit our campaign page.
Read. Sign. Share. Thank you!
DK Raymer – Founder & President, HealthCare PSI
HealthCare PSI Blog 
Posted on July 13, 2011
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