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Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs)

Facts & Figures

The CDC estimates that 5 percent of all hospital admissions result in infections that patients acquire during their stay while receiving treatment for other conditions, culminating in 1.7 million infections and 99,000 deaths each year as well as $28–$33 billion in excess costs. A recent article by Anderson and colleagues estimated that HAIs in North Carolina cost $124-$348 million each year in direct expenditures.

North Carolina's current surveillance and prevention efforts focus on central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), abdominal hysterectomy and colon surgical site infections (SSIs), laboratory-identified Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia, and laboratory-identified Clostridium difficile (C. diff). The first hospital-specific estimates of select HAI infections in short-term acute care hospitals were published in January 2013.

HAIs are reported to DPH via the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) External link in accordance with the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) inpatient prospective payment system rules. The current CMS-IPPS rules are available on the CMS-IPPS website at www.cms.gov/Center/Provider-Type/Hospital-Center.html External link (Scroll down to the "Payment" section under "Important Links").

Reports

The N.C. HAI Prevention Program issues year-to-date statistical updates on a quarterly basis.

  • NEW! HAI Annual Report for 2012 - Issued April 2013. The first year-end summary from the N.C. HAI Prevention Program, this report provides state-level and hospital-specific data from 99 North Carolina hospitals on CLABSI, CAUTI and SSI infections from January 1 through December 31, 2012, as well as an overview of program activities and accomplishments.
  • January through June 2012 – Issued January 2013, North Carolina's first HAI data report covers short-term acute-care hospital data for January through June 2012.
  • Program Overview (PDF, 323KB) - Issued October 2012. This initial report describes North Carolina's overall efforts and plan to monitor and prevent HAIs, including which HAIs are monitored and how HAI data are collected and reported.

For national HAI data, visit the CDC web site: National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Reports & Data External link

For information on N.C.'s specific HAI prevention goals through 2015, please see the HAI Prevention Plan.

For Additional Information