As reported in iHealthBeat, Minnesota hospitals in 2009 will begin to publicly report hospital-acquired infections as part of a health budget bill signed last month. The reporting requirement calls for Minnesota to follow National Quality Forum guidelines that will be released this summer. It is unclear whether hospitals will report “outcome” measures — such as infection rates among patients — or whether they will report “process” measures — such as how often hospitals use proven prevention measure.
More than 15 states around the county have adopted laws requiring public reporting of infection rates. However, so far, only Florida, Missouri, and Pennsylvania have produced public reports on their state hospitals’ infection rates.