Ontario is now reporting three more patient safety indicators as part of a comprehensive plan for transparency in the province’s hospitals. These indicators include bacteraemia infection rates for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) by hospital site. Ontario is also beginning to report hospital standardized mortality ratios (HSMR), calculated annually by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. HSMR is a measure that provides a starting point to assess mortality rates and identify areas for improvement.
Ontario began public reporting on the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care Website www.ontario.ca/patientsafety of Clostridium difficile associated disease (CDAD) – the first of eight patient safety indicators – in September, 2008. Public reporting on four more patient safety indicators – ventilator-associated pneumonia, central line infections, surgical site infections and hand hygiene compliance – will begin on April 30, 2009.