According to an article in USA Today, health care associated infections are still a major problem in hospitals and despite laws in 29 states to make infection rates public, little statistical information has been released.

Yet something as simple as strict hand hygiene can prevent infections. In the September issue of the journal Health Affairs, for example, University of North Carolina researchers describe changes in the North Carolina Children’s Hospital pediatric intensive care unit. Simply attaching hand sanitizer dispensers to the walls outside patients’ rooms and implementing a few low-cost preventive measures shortened hospital stays more than two days on average, reduced hospitalization costs by more than $12,000 per case and cut death rates by 2.3%.