Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon hospitals released their first ever study Monday on patients who get infected in the hospital.

As Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, those infections are among the top 10 leading causes of death in the country -- and can cost a patient $30,000 or more.

Under the direction of the 2007 state legislature, Oregon hospitals spent the last two years tracking high risk surgeries like knee replacements and coronary bypasses.

They found that two in every 100 bypass patients get an infection. It was one in every 100 for knee replacements.

Diane Waldo of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems says Oregon did better than the national average.

Diane Waldo: "Our hospitals have no worry about stepping up to the bar to be accountable. They want to show the rest of the state and the nation what good work they're doing. And certainly there's more work to be done. This report was really the first step to share this information."

Preventing infections has become a key element in improving patient care and lowering costs.

Next year, the federal government will begin requiring infection reporting. Medicare will also stop reimbursing hospitals for treating them.