The following is a summary of legislation by state regarding the disclosure by hospitals of their hospital infection rates.
Arkansas
Hospitals to voluntarily submit infection rates to the Division of Health of the Department of Health and Human Services. Hospitals will collect data for health care associated infection rates for the following: coronary artery bypass surgical site infections; total hip or knee arthroplasty surgical site infections; knee arthroscopy surgical site infections; hernia repair surgical site infections; and central line-associated bloodstream infection in an intensive care unit. The Department will publish an annual report to their Web site with aggregate statewide numbers without identifying hospitals by January 1, 2010. Introduced into law 2007
California
Effective January 1, 2008, hospitals will report health care associated infections to the State. Its public reporting will relate to the rate at which prevention practices are used. The reporting requirements however do not include hospital infection rates, which would reveal whether hospital policies are actually reducing infections. The limited public reporting in this bill is to be done at by Jan. 1, 2008. Introduced into law 2006
Colorado
By July 31, 2007, hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers and dialysis centers commenced reporting incidents of hospital-acquired infections to the CDC to be analyzed and risk adjusted. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will use that information to issue facility-specific infection rates to the public. The first report will include infection rates for cardiac and orthopedic surgical site infections and central line-related blood stream infections. The first annual comparative report will be issued in January 2008.
Introduced into law 2006
Connecticut
Hospitals to report infection rates to the Connecticut Department of Health who will make hospital-specific infection information available to the public. The first report is to be issued by October 2008. Introduced into law 2006
Delaware
Hospitals to report to the Department quarterly on hospital-acquired infection rates for Surgical site infections; Ventilator-associated pneumonia; Central line-related bloodstream infections; and Urinary tract infections. These quarterly reports will be made available to the public at each hospital and through the Department. The first quarterly report is due January 1, 2008. The Department will publish the annual report summarizing the hospital quarterly reports on its Web site by January 1, 2010, to be updated on a quarterly basis after this. The annual report shall compare hospital-acquired infection rate collected for each individual hospital in the State and include trends concerning the overall state of hospital-acquired infections in the State, including a comparison to prior years. Introduced into law 2007
Florida
Hospitals report hospital-acquired infection rates to the State. Introduced into law 2004.
Illinois
Infection rates relating to surgical site infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia, and central vascular bloodstream infection rates in designated critical care units to be reported to the state Department of Public Health. Commencing 2007, reporting is to occur quarterly, with the annual report due on December 31 of each year. First introduced into law 2003, revised 2005.
Maryland
Hospital-acquired infection information to be reported to Maryland Health Care Commission. This information will be included in their existing hospital quality reporting system and be presented in a manner that will allow comparisons among hospitals. Introduced into law 2006.
Minnesota
Minnesota Hospital Association to include hospital-acquired infection rates in their existing Web based public reporting system for hospital specific quality and cost performance by January 1, 2009. To include facility to compare hospital specific data to State wide data. Introduced into law 2007.
Missouri
Hospitals report risk-adjusted rates for surgical site infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia and central line-related bloodstream infections. In 2006 the State released a report on bloodstream infections (Central line blood stream infections in intensive care units). Reports on surgical infections for total hip replacements, CABG and abdominal hysterectomies to follow. Introduced into law 2004.
New York
Each hospital collects hospital infection data and reports it to the Department of Health. Hospitals are required to maintain a program capable of identifying and tracking hospital-acquired infections for public reporting purpose with a two year implementation period. The first year’s data collection is considered a ‘pilot’ with no hospital-specific information revealed. However, the data can be released as an aggregate statewide data or hospital level information without the hospital name, which would enable the state to look at the variations among hospitals or in various regions of the state. The initial report will include surgical site infections, central line related blood stream infections, and ventilator associated pneumonia in critical care units. Introduced into law 2005.
New Hampshire
Effective July 2007, hospitals must report to the Department of Health and Human Services, their infection rates as well as measures they use to prevent infections. The first report’s outcome measures will include the rate of central line related blood stream infections; ventilator associated pneumonia and surgical site infections; the rate at which the hospital uses certain processes to prevent these types of infections will also be included. The first report is due June 2008. Introduced into law 2006.
Nebraska
Confidential hospital infection reporting to state agencies – not disclosed to the public. Hospitals report hospital infections as an aggregate number to the health department. Introduced into law in 2005.
Nevada
Confidential hospital infection reporting to state agencies – not disclosed to the public. Introduced into law in 2005.
Ohio
Effective early 2007, hospitals report hospital-acquired infection rates to the Director of Health, along with other hospital performance and price data, including hospital-acquired infection measures, which is reported to the public on a website within 90 days of receiving the information from the hospitals. Introduced into law 2006.
Pennsylvania
Hospitals report hospital-acquired infection rates to the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4). PHC4 published three reports, based on 2004 data and the first nine months of 2005. The PHC4 issued two reports in 2005. Introduced into law 2004.
Rhode Island
Does not specifically mandate public reporting but requires an existing hospital quality steering committee to consider adding measures associated with hospital-acquired infections, in consultation with experts, to the state’s hospital quality of care reports. These reports are issued in January of each year. Introduced into law 2006.
South Carolina
Requires hospitals in the state to report the rate at which their patients develop surgical site infections, ventilator assisted pneumonia, and central line bloodstream infections to the Department of Health and Environmental Control by February 2008. The first annual report will be issued by February 2009. Introduced into law 2006.
Tennessee
The Department of Health will publish on their website infection rates for central line associated blood stream infections in intensive care units. The reports will be updated every six months with the most recent four quarters of data. The department will report only aggregate statewide CABG surgical infection rates. Data will be reported through the CDC National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). Introduced into law 2006.
Texas
Requires the reporting of health care-associated infections at certain health care facilities to the Department of State Health Services. Not later than June 1, 2008, the Department of State Health Services shall establish the Texas Health Care-Associated Infection Reporting System. The department shall compile and make available to the public a risk-adjusted summary, by health care facility, of the infections reported by facilities. Introduced into law 2007.
Virginia
Effective July 2008, acute care hospitals to report nosocomial infection rates through the CDC National Health Safety Network. Information will be available to the public upon request. Introduced into law 2005.
Vermont
First State report issued in the Summer of 2006 include rates at which hospitals use procedures that prevent surgical site infections. Hospitals are also required to complete the LeapFrog survey on hand washing and numerous other patient safety and quality-of-care measures will be included about each VT hospital. Introduced into law 2006.
Washington
Hospitals in the state will disclose the rate at which patients acquire certain infections during treatment. Hospitals will be required to collect data on central-line associated bloodstream infections in intensive care units (from July 1, 2008), then ventilator-associated pneumonia (from January 1, 2009), and then surgical site infections for certain procedures (beginning January 1,2010). Commencing December 1, 2009, the Department of Health will publish an annual report on its web site that compares the health care associated infection rates at individual hospitals in the state using the date reported in the previous calendar year. Introduced into law 2007.
Hospital infection reporting bills still active:
Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, and West Virginia.
Sources:
2007 Legislative SessionHospital-acquired infection public reporting bills, ConsumersUnion.org
Hospital Based Reporting Requirements, StateHealthFacts.org
