Serious infections are becoming more prevalent and morevirulent both in our hospitals and in our communities. The numbers arestaggering:  1.7 million people will sufferfrom a hospital acquired infection each year and almost 100,000 will die as a result.

When our late daughter, Kate was diagnosed with anaggressive eye cancer in 1989 at five months of age our life became consumed bydoctor visits, MRI scans, radiation treatments, chemotherapy and fear. Myhusband and I assumed that our fight was against the ravages of cancer but almosteight years later we faced another life-threatening challenge we never countedon - hospital-acquired infection. In 1997, Kate was infected with Staph aureusin the operating room during a “routine” 30 minute biopsy procedure to confirmthe reoccurrence of her cancer.

Kate’s hospital infection led to seven weeks in thePediatric Intensive Care Unit on life support, the amputation of her right leg,kidney damage and the loss of 70% of her lung capacity. While most infectionsare not this serious, the ones that are often lead to permanent loss offunction and life long disabilities. In the years since Kate’s Staph infection,resistant strains of the bacteria have emerged and now pose even more of athreat since they can be impossible to treat with our existing arsenal ofantibiotics.

Those patients afflicted with resistant Staph, or MRSA(Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) will often have to contend withthe threat of recurrent infections for the rest of their life.  Patients live in constant fear ofre-infection and often struggle with feelings of vulnerability andhelplessness. Family members, friends and co-workers may not fully understandthe facts and have nowhere to turn for education about risks and prevention.Loved ones may worry unnecessarily for their own safety, which can cause themto distance themselves from someone who desperately needs their presence andsupport.

The truth is that we have the knowledge and the ability toprevent a great number of these frightening infections, but the busy andfragmented system in which care is delivered does not encourage adequateinfection control measures and patients continue to be placed at risk. Asignificant part of the problem is that the public doesn’t receive timely andaccurate information about the detection and prevention of MRSA and otherdangerous organisms and they are not engaged as “safety partners” in the questto eliminate infections.

Once I knew that Kate would survive her infection, I embarkedon a different journey as I began to research the causes and the solutions tohospital-acquired infections and preventable medical errors. The information Iobtained was both alarming and disheartening. The system that we all rely uponand the one that I trusted to care for my precious daughter was failing tens ofthousands of patients every year. Our situation was not unique – in fact, itwas all too common.

In 1999 the Institute of Medicine released a groundbreakingreport on the dangers in our health care system that validated what I had cometo learn during my quest for answers. In the decade since the Institute ofMedicine publication, little progress has been made in implementing the safetyrecommendations detailed in the report. The reality is that patients and theirloved ones must step up to the plate and have a positive influence on thesafety and the quality of the health care they receive by seeking information,doing their own research and being actively engaged as active partners withtheir health care providers.

Consumers can help prevent many infections and potentialerrors and studies show that patients who are involved in their care oftenexperience better outcomes. Patients who are involved in their medical careunderstand the rationale behind their plan for care, have realisticexpectations and set attainable goals and are generally more compliant withtheir treatment strategies. All the major patient safety organizations agreethat patients need to assume a greater role in their healthcare and to enlistfriends or family members as advocates.

It’s true that the days of squirting Bactine on a cut andnot giving it another thought are over. But even though we must be more awareand vigilant, we must not allow fear to stop us from taking steps to protectourselves. I’m often asked if consumers can really have an impact on preventinghospital infections and medical errors and my answer is always an emphatic “Yes”because I consider patients and their advocates to be untapped safety resources.

This fervent belief led me to spend eight years researchingand writing a book entitled The EmpoweredPatient: Hundreds of life-saving facts, action steps and strategies you need toknow. I believe that the hard-won information I learned during our tenyears immersed in the system fighting for Kate’s life was meant to be sharedwith others.

While the book details hundreds of basic “action steps” forpatients to utilize, the following is a good start for those interested instaying safe from infection:

• Don’t insist on antibiotics for every illness. Many respiratory illnesses, fevers and ear aches are viral infections and antibiotics have no effect on viruses.
• Finish your entire dose of antibiotics to ensure that the bacteria have been completely eliminated from your system. If you stop taking antibiotics as soon as you feel better, you may be helping the bacteria become resistant, because you may only wound the bacteria and not kill it.
• Wash your hands and insist that your health care providers do the same. Simply state before anyone touches you, “I know that infections are a problem in hospitals and I routinely ask all my providers to wash their hands and wear gloves.” No one will object to this logic or feel offended.
• Health care workers should wash their hands and wear gloves for all vascular (or blood related) procedures, such as starting an IV line.
• Ask if you need a pre-operative antibiotic one hour before your surgery and remind the staff to administer it.
• Ask your surgeon if you should wash with an antibacterial body wash containing chlorhexidine before surgery and don’t shave your surgical site, which can cause small cuts in your skin and allow bacteria to enter your system.
• Realize that California has adverse event and a hospital infection reporting law. If you experience an error or an infection, ask that your hospital report it to the Department of Public Health. If you encounter resistance, you can personally report the situation to your local health department.

Can you prevent every error, mishap or infection? Absolutelynot. Caring for the human body will always be inherently risky. That fact isundeniable. But don’t let the fact that you can’t eliminate every error or riskmake you give up or not even try at all. The reality is that patients and theiradvocates are only a part of the solution - but they are a vital part.

Those of us who have lost so much could have turned awayfrom the system that hurt our loved ones and never looked back. Instead, I workwith hundreds of other advocates from all over the country who devote endlesstime and energy to working with the system to make meaningful improvements. Wedo this because we still believe, even after losing those we love and stillmourn every day, that this country has the desire and the ability to make ourhealthcare system a beacon of safety and excellence.

Because at the end of the day, we still envision a systemthat puts patients and advocates at the center of the healthcare team. A systemwhere patients work with their doctors and not at odds with them. A system thattracks, monitors and reports hospital infections and medical errors so that wecan compile the data we need to save lives. A system that is safe andcompassionate, but never complacent. A system that is constantly seeking waysto improve, setting higher goals and welcoming of a more educated and involvedpublic.

Dr. Julia Hallisy is a private practice dentist in San Francisco, California and a patient safety advocate.