HHS’ National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections – New Targets and Metrics
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced new targets for the national acute care hospital metrics for the National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections: Road to Map to Elimination (HAI Action Plan). The plan will has three (3) phases and addresses acute care hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, end-stage renal disease facilities and long Term care Facilities.
The targets use data from 2015 as a baseline and they replace the previous targets that expired in December 2013. These target goals for reduction of health care-associated infections (HAIs) are ambitious but achievable.
The measures will track population-based harm from HAIs at the national level. These measures address the following goals from the HAI Action Plan:
- 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 health care-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) infections
- Reduce facility-onset methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) in facility-wide health care
- Reduce facility-onset Clostridium difficileinfections in facility-wide health care
- Reduce the rate of Clostridium difficilehospitalizations
- Reduce surgical site infection (SSI)admission and readmission
- Adherence to process measures to prevent surgical site infection (SSI)
The new targets start from a new baseline — and, in some cases, are more aggressive than the previous targets. Progress in reducing HAIs will be tracked using a standardized infection ratio (SIR). The SIR compares the actual number of HAIs to the predicted number of infections. The predicted number is a risk-adjusted estimate that is determined using national baseline data.
Please go to National Targets and Metrics to view tables that show 2013 Targets and Progress Made by 2014 as well as the New Targets.
HHS has also developed an Agency Priority Goal to increase antibiotic stewardship programs and AHRQ and CMS have both developed initiatives for antibiotic stewardship.
MCN HEALTHCARE
Regulatory Compliance Solutions for Healthcare Organizations,
Including Policy Management Software, Policy Library Templates,
StayAlert! – Regulatory Alert System, and Learning Management System