"The [Michigan Keystone ICU Project] targeted a specific type of infection that ICU patients can get while in the hospital – catheter-related bloodstream infections.
These infections are expensive and potentially lethal. They add approximately $18,000 to the cost of care when a patient contracts them, and cause 24,000 deaths per year.
The Keystone Project sought to change clinicians’ behaviors when inserting catheters into ICU patients. To do so, the team made a checklist, measured infection rates, and changed hospital culture. The checklist’s components consisted of hand washing; using a cap, gown, and mask; cleaning the patient’s skin with a disinfectant; avoiding placing catheters near the groin; and removing unnecessary catheters.
These five steps were associated with a 66-percent reduction in these infections throughout the state, saving over 1,500 lives and $200 million in the first 18 months alone."
That might be useful if you had something complicated to remember, but wouldn't you tend to ignore a checklist that had as a single point "Wash your hands"?
