26:2H-12.40 Findings, declarations relative to reporting of infection rates by hospitals.

2. The Legislature finds and declares:

a. Health care facility-associated infections constitute a major public health problem in this country, affecting from 5% to 10% of hospitalized patients annually, resulting in an estimated two million infections, and 90,000 deaths, and adding an estimated $4.5 to $5.7 billion in health care costs;

b. Many health care facility-associated infections can be prevented, and a goal of zero health care facility-associated infections is desirable. There are many simple and effective practices in hospitals that can dramatically reduce the incidence of health care facility-associated infections, such as hand washing, using gloves and properly sterilized equipment, and following the same established best practices, every time, for procedures such as the insertion of an intravenous tube to deliver fluids and medication;

c. The uniform reporting of health care facility-associated infections to the State, and the review and analysis of this data by the Department of Health, will provide a measurable means to assist hospitals in improving patient outcomes;

d. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that states establishing public reporting systems for health care facility-associated infections focus on major site categories to report rates of health care facility-associated infections related to procedures and conditions including, but not limited to, urinary tract infections, surgical site infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and central line-related bloodstream infections. A focus on major site categories helps ensure that data collection is concentrated in populations where health care facility-associated infections are more prevalent, and that the infection rates reported are most useful for targeting prevention practices and making comparisons among hospitals and within hospitals, over time;

e. The Department of Health currently provides comparative hospital performance data in its annual New Jersey Hospital Performance Report, and including information about hospital infection rates will further enhance the value of the report to the public and health care providers; and

f. Therefore, it is a matter of public health and fiscal policy that patients in New Jersey's hospitals receive health care that incorporates best practices in infection control, not only to protect their health and lives, but also to ensure the economic viability of New Jersey's hospitals.

L.2007, c.196, s.2; amended 2012, c.17, s.201.