
This week, the ODPHP announced "ambitious new targets for the national acute-care hospital metrics" for the HAI Action Plan. It used 2015 data as a baseline to replace targets that expired in 2013. The goal for these measures is to primarily track HAIs at a national level.
The measures include the following goals:
- Reduce central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) in intensive care units and ward-located patients
- Reduce catheter-associated urinary tracts infections (CAUTI) in intensive care units and ward-located patients
- Reduce the incidence of invasive healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections
- Reduce facility-onset MRSA in facility-wide healthcare
- Reduce facility-onset Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infections in facility-wide healthcare
- Reduce the rate of C. diff hospitalizations
- Reduce surgical-site infection (SSI) admission and readmission
- Adherence to process measures to prevent SSIs
There are a few other important developments associated with this update:
- ODPHP eliminated the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) process measure due to major compliance and widely accepted practice.
- Antibiotic stewardship is gaining major momentum, with HHS developing an "Agency Priority Goal" for combating antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Infection Control Consulting Services (ICCS) is a national provider of healthcare infection control consulting services to a wide range of facilities, including hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient care facilities, dentists and nursing homes. Services include development of comprehensive, compliant infection prevention programs; infection prevention risk assessment; accreditation and CMS survey preparation; and infection education.