Taking "informed consent" too far?

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Infections acquired in hospitals are a major problem. I think we all know of a person who went to teh hospital or emergency room for one problem and later ended up with an infection that we actually got from the hospital. This is an all too common problem and Johns Hopkins University has been trying to tackle this problem to benefit all of us. They developed a 5 step checklist to use when starting an IV on a patient - it includes things like washing hands and donning sterile gloves and gowns. The resulting decrease in infections from using this checklist was 2/3rds and when used in ICU's it cut the infection rate from 4% to ZERO. They estimate that in 18 months in the state of Michigan it saved more than 1,500 lives nad $200 million dollars! But, when they tried to expand the program to other locations, the federal government stepped in and SHUT THEM DOWN. Why? Because, using a checklist is new and that makes it an "experimental practice". Before using an "experimental practice" you have to get the "informed consent" of both the patient AND their "health-care provider". So, doctors, nurses, and residents can start IV's without using any checklist ANY way they want (and if the person gets a life threatening infection - too bad). But, they can not use a 5 step checklist without getting a lot of paperwork signed. I believe in informed consent if you are going to use an experimetnal drug on me or tried a new surgery on me that might or might not even work. But, I think that banning a simple checklist that has already proven beneficial is beyond ridiculous. While it may be common sense that to prevent infections; you wash and wear sterile attire; obvioiusly this has NOT been taking place in our hospitals or we would not have such a high infection rate. Here is a link to the whole article - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/opinion/30gawande.html?em&ex=1199336400&en=60515be9a41e8b2b&ei=5087%0A What do you think? Should the government butt out when it is something this simple? If I took a copy of this checklist with me to the hospital; do you think I could get them to use it?