Dale Bratzler, DO, MPH, Medical Director of the Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality, addressed the issue of surgical site infections in the Medicare population. Research shows that such infections can have dire implications. For example, Bratzler referenced a study by Silber et al that examined the odds of dying after developing a surgical site infection.
“When a patient has a major complication of surgery, it increases their risk of death by threefold within the next 60 days,” Bratzler said.

