As of 2008, hospitals in the state of New York have been required to report hip surgical site infections, and New York State Department of Health audits the accuracy of hospitals’ reports. New York is the first state to validate HAI data.
Results of the audit suggest that much of the data from hospitals was incorrectly reported, thereby affecting the rate for HAI. One recurring incident they discovered was that the duration of time recorded by hospitals for any given procedure did not follow the same guidelines as the Center of Disease Control, which defines the duration of time starting from the moment an incision is opened to the time it is closed. Some hospitals were including time it took to administer anesthesia.Ten percent of hospitals reports were found to be innacurate due to the issue of time duration alone.
The New York Department of Health’s auditing provided new insight into how hospitals can put in place best practices not only for monitoring HAIs but also accurate reporting of HAIs.
Read APIC’s news release about auditing infection rates (pdf).
Read more about infection rates:
Infection Rates Drop in Massachusetts Hospitals
Johns Hopkins Patient Safety Expert Calls for More Hospital Accountability
Electronic Infection Monitoring Shown to Improve Adherence to infection Prevention Best Practices
