A new study, published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemology, found current public hospital-acquired infections (HAI) data presentation methods may be inadequate. Public reporting of hospital quality data is a key element of US healthcare reform. Data for hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are especially complex. The study sought to assess interpretability of HAI data as presented on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare website among patients who might benefit from access to these data. When presented with numeric HAI data, study participants incorrectly compared hospitals on the basis of HAI data in more than 40% of the responses. The findings suggest research is needed to identify better ways to convey these data to the public.
Read more: Lack of Patient Understanding of Hospital-Acquired Infection Data Published on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare Website. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemology.