In the United States, hospital-acquired infections affect 1 in 10 patients, killing 90,000 of them and costing as much as $11 billion each year. Many of those infections are acquired when an IV line delivering medication becomes infected. Dr. Pronovost’s checklist is simple and straightforward, and includes steps such as doctors and nurses washing their hands before inserting an IV, and cleaning the patient’s skin with antiseptic at the point of the insertion. When Michigan hospitals put the checklist into practice, they not only saved over $175 million in 18 months because they didn’t have to treat infections, but they also saved nearly 1,500 lives!