Seen at Insurance Journal:
The Illinois Hospital Report Card Act was signed into law in 2003 and requires hospitals to report statistics such as infections, staffing levels and the ratio of patients to nurses. At the time, it was to be the nation’s first move to document hospital-acquired infections, and health care advocates said it would allow people to choose hospitals based on how well they do.
But officials say the report card won’t be ready for public release until October.
That’s riling U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, who as a state senator in 2003 was a champion of the legislation and has been promoting the idea on the presidential campaign trail. In a written statement to the Tribune, the Chicago Democrat said officials need to make sure the work gets done.
“Patients have the right to information about the cost and quality of hospitals so they can make informed decisions about their health,” he said in the statement. “We need to be sure we are making these report cards a reality.”
You’d think that a Senator, of all folks, knows how slowly the wheels of bureaucracy can turn (especially when a special interest group doesn’t want them to turn).