On Jan. 1, hospitals will begin reporting the number of patients who contract catheter-related bloodstream infections to CMS, according to a report by McClatchy Newspapers.
The information will be made public on CMS' Hospital Compare website later in 2011. Hospitals that don't comply would lose 2 percent of their Medicare funding beginning in fiscal year 2013.
The Keystone Project at hospitals in Michigan reduced the rate of catheter-related bloodstream infections to zero over 18 months in 103 intensive care units. In 2008, 36 hospitals in the New York area reduced catheter-related bloodstream infections in their ICUs by 70 percent collectively.
Twenty-seven states already require reporting of healthcare-associated infections. HAIs are among the top 10 leading causes of U.S. deaths and raise healthcare costs by $28 billion to $33 billion a year.
Nearly 250,000 bloodstream infections occur each year in U.S. hospitals due to catheters, and about 31,000 patients die from this each year. Nearly all these infections are preventable when hospital staff consistently use safety measures such as hand hygiene and glove-changing.
Read the McClatchy Newspapers report on reporting catheter-related bloodstream infections.
Read other coverage about reporting quality measures:
- Physician Quality Reporting System: No New Anesthesiology Measures for 2011
- CMS Delays Reporting on Hospital-Acquired Infections
- Legislation to Upgrade Washington's Medical-Error Reporting Program to be Introduced
The information will be made public on CMS' Hospital Compare website later in 2011. Hospitals that don't comply would lose 2 percent of their Medicare funding beginning in fiscal year 2013.
The Keystone Project at hospitals in Michigan reduced the rate of catheter-related bloodstream infections to zero over 18 months in 103 intensive care units. In 2008, 36 hospitals in the New York area reduced catheter-related bloodstream infections in their ICUs by 70 percent collectively.
Twenty-seven states already require reporting of healthcare-associated infections. HAIs are among the top 10 leading causes of U.S. deaths and raise healthcare costs by $28 billion to $33 billion a year.
Nearly 250,000 bloodstream infections occur each year in U.S. hospitals due to catheters, and about 31,000 patients die from this each year. Nearly all these infections are preventable when hospital staff consistently use safety measures such as hand hygiene and glove-changing.
Read the McClatchy Newspapers report on reporting catheter-related bloodstream infections.
Read other coverage about reporting quality measures:
- Physician Quality Reporting System: No New Anesthesiology Measures for 2011
- CMS Delays Reporting on Hospital-Acquired Infections
- Legislation to Upgrade Washington's Medical-Error Reporting Program to be Introduced