In effort to curb preventable ICU infections, new reporting requirement kicks in Jan. 1

A new rule will require hospitals to report infections the follow a patient's treatment in intensive-care units. Meanwhile, a new study finds mortality risks related to dialysis are higher at for-profit chains. 

McClatchy: New Rule Requires Hospitals To Report ICU Infections
Hoping to erase a troubling legacy of preventable infections and deaths, most U.S. hospitals on Jan. 1 will begin reporting the number of patients who contract bloodstream infections following their treatment in intensive-care units. The information about infections involving catheters will be made public on a government website later in 2011, giving consumers a fast, easy way to see which hospitals best protect patients from one of the most lethal, yet avoidable medical conditions (Pugh, 12/9).

ProPublica: New Study Shows Higher Mortality Risk A For-Profit Dialysis Chains
[According to] a study released today in the journal Health Services Research. ... Patients at the largest for-profit chain were found to have a 19 percent higher risk of death than patients receiving care at the nonprofit; at the second-largest chain, the risk was 24 percent higher (Fields, 12/9).