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For Immediate
Release
7/14/07
CONTACT:
Michele Hansarick
(717) 787-1350
Erickson Bill to Reduce
Healthcare-Associated Infections Heads to Governor
Bill to improve care, lower healthcare
costs to be signed into law.
 
Harrisburg – The state Senate today passed and sent to
the Governor legislation sponsored by Sen. Ted Erickson
(R-26) to reduce the number of healthcare‑associated
infections in the Commonwealth. Senate Bill 968 will
establish the steps to be taken by state government agencies
and healthcare facilities to prevent, track, and reduce
infections.
"I appreciate the prompt action this bill received by my
colleagues in both the Senate and the House of
Representatives, and I am encouraged that the Governor
stands ready to sign Senate Bill 968 into law," said
Erickson, Chairman of the Senate Public Health and Welfare
Committee. "Over the past few years, many health care
facilities in the Commonwealth have taken steps to reduce
HAIs. Senate Bill 968 will ensure that these initiatives are
undertaken statewide, using the latest technology and
protocols to prevent infections, and to report infections
quickly and accurately when they occur."
Nationwide, healthcare-associated infections affect an
estimated two million patients a year, with more than
100,000 dying from bacteria that are increasingly resistant
to common antibiotics. It has been estimated that the
average additional cost for a patient that develops a
healthcare‑associated infection, also known as an HAI, is
$8,832. "Reducing infections will not only lower health
care costs, but will spare patients unnecessary pain,
discomfort and longer hospital stays, and will improve
overall quality of care," said Erickson.
The legislation would do the following:
- Require that hospitals, nursing homes and ambulatory
surgical facilities, implement internal infection control
plans to improve the health and safety of patients and
healthcare workers.
- Ensure that hospitals conduct a strategic assessment of
the utility and efficacy of an electronic surveillance
system and implement such a system based on the assessment.
- Charge the state Patient Safety Authority with
overseeing the reporting of infections and tracking HAIs in
Pennsylvania.
- Require insurers and the Medical Assistance Program to
reimburse facilities for the cost of infection screenings
performed in accordance with an infection control plan.
- Provide a quality improvement payment to a healthcare
facility that reduces HAIs by 10% or more.
To ensure a timely, accurate system to track infection
rates, Senate Bill 968 has been amended to require the
adoption of the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN)
internet-based surveillance system, said Erickson. The CDC
network will be the primary means for hospitals to report
healthcare‑associated infections to the Patient Safety
Authority, the state Health Department and the Health Care
Cost Containment Council.
On June 28, 2007, the CDC announced that it was making
this infection tracking system available to all hospitals
nationwide, at no charge. The NHSN has been pilot-tested
since 2005 and is used by more than 600 participants in 45
states. Nine states have already adopted legislation to
mandate reporting of HAIs using the NHSN system.
"Adoption of the CDC infection tracking system will
enable Pennsylvania to accurately identify and track
infections, compare ourselves to hospitals nationwide, and
enable the Patient Safety Authority to share best practices
to prevent infections," said Erickson. "In addition, by
adopting the CDC system, Pennsylvania hospitals will benefit
from the national research and development that has already
occurred, as opposed to 'reinventing the wheel.' This will
not only save hospitals money, but it will save taxpayer
dollars."
Hospitals, nursing homes, and ambulatory surgical
facilities must implement an infection control plan within
120 days of the bill's effective date. Infections must be
reported to the CDC and its NHSN no later than 180 days
following the bill's effective date. And, hospitals must
ensure that their electronic or other surveillance tracking
system is in place by the end of 2008.
"Senate Bill 968 is a comprehensive approach to a problem
that has threatened the health of patients and healthcare
workers and that has driven up the cost of health care for
too long. Infections do not have to be a byproduct of an
encounter with a healthcare facility. Enactment of my
legislation will make Pennsylvania a leader in preventing,
tracking and, ultimately, reducing the incidence of
healthcare‑acquired infections," said Erickson.
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