SC Hospital Infections Disclosure Act (HIDA)
Infections that patients acquire while they are being treated in hospitals and in other health care facilities are a major public health problem in the United States. These "healthcare acquired infections" (HAIs), sometimes called healthcare associated infections, can be very serious. They can increase both the cost and length of your hospital stay and may even result in death. Click here for more general information about HAIs.
This Web site is meant to help you:
- Understand more about HAIs.
- Learn about infection rates in South Carolina hospitals.
- Learn what you, as a patient, can do to lower your risk for an HAI.
State Law requires public disclosure of Hospital Acquired Infections
In 2006, the S.C. General Assembly passed the Hospital Infections Disclosure Act (HIDA). Healthcare acquired infections occur in health care facilities other than hospitals, but this law applies only to hospitals. HIDA requires hospitals to report certain HAI rates to DHEC every six months. DHEC and South Carolina hospitals must make these reports available to the public.
The first six-month HIDA report was posted on this DHEC Web site on February 1, 2008. The second, most recent report was posted on August 1, 2008. Future reports will be posted every six months on February 1 and August 1 of each year. The first HIDA annual report, requiring DHEC to actually compare hospitals, is due out on February 1, 2009. Along with all other HIDA reports, the annual report will be posted on this Web site. It will also be available at each hospital and on each hospital’s Web site.
Only certain types of infections are being tracked at this time. Hospitals must report: central line-associated bloodstream infections acquired in certain hospital units; surgical site infections for selected surgical procedures; and laboratory blood cultures positive for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, also known as MRSA. Additional reporting procedures and hospital departments will be added in the future. Right now, for example, certain revisions are underway that will affect future reporting categories for gallbladder surgery.
Hospitals also have to report some of their infection control prevention processes. The first report on these prevention processes will be published on this Web site as part of the February 1, 2009 annual report.
Hospitals are to submit their data to DHEC through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) data system.
Click here to learn more about HAIs and current South Carolina reporting requirements.
Preliminary Hospital Acquired Infections Report: August 1, 2008
In March 2008, as required by HIDA, DHEC began to evaluate the accuracy and quality of the reports by making validation site visits to each hospital. DHEC infection control professionals are in the process of visiting the state’s hospitals and will continue this process on at least an annual basis from now on.
Disclaimer:
Keep in mind, these reports are preliminary. Please do not use the reports to compare hospitals at this point. When the first HIDA annual report is issued in February 2009, DHEC will help you understand when and how to use the infection rates to compare hospitals. But right now, many of these preliminary reports contain too few procedures to offer a complete picture of infection rates at each hospital. Keep in mind that DHEC is still making validation site visits and has not visited every hospital to check the quality and accuracy of their data.
Also, some patients have conditions that make them more likely to get infections. A patient’s age, underlying diseases, and level of illness all affect their risk for infection. So hospitals that treat patients with greater risk of infection would be expected to have higher rates.
Remember, no single source of information can be used to determine overall quality of care in a hospital. An institution’s experience with HAIs is only one thing to consider when choosing a hospital. You should also consider the advice of your physician and the experience of the facilities and surgeons. Individual health factors should be considered as well.
Please review the definition of terms to help you understand the HAI data reports. Once you're familiar with the terms, go to the Hospital Acquired Infections Reports. Hospitals are grouped by general bed size and listed alphabetically. You can see each hospital's report by clicking on the name of the hospital.
*Hospitals are to submit their data to DHEC through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) data system.
For more information about the Hospital Acquired Infections Report:
Call DHEC Division of Acute Disease Epidemiology: (803) 898-0861
or e-mail: HAIPublicInformation@dhec.sc.gov