SENATE BILL REPORT
SHB 2828
This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent. |
As Reported by Senate Committee On:
Health & Long-Term Care, February 22, 2010
Title: An act relating to requiring hospitals to report certain health care-associated infections to the Washington state hospital association's quality benchmarking system until the national health care safety network is able to accept aggregate denominator data.
Brief Description: Requiring hospitals to report certain health care data.
Sponsors: House Committee on Health Care & Wellness (originally sponsored by Representatives Campbell and Morrell).
Brief History: Passed House: 2/12/10, 95-0.
Committee Activity: Health & Long-Term Care: 2/18/10, 2/22/10 [DP].
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH & LONG-TERM CARE |
Majority Report: Do pass.
Signed by Senators Keiser, Chair; Franklin, Vice Chair; Pflug, Ranking Minority Member; Becker, Fairley, Marr, Murray and Parlette.
Staff: Edith Rice (786-7444)
Background: Under Department of Health (DOH) hospital licensing standards, hospitals must maintain infection control programs to reduce the occurrence of hospital-acquired infections. As a part of this program, hospitals must adopt policies and procedures consistent with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines regarding infection control in hospitals.
Hospitals are also required to collect and report data on certain health care associated infections. This requirement was phased in as follows:
on July 1, 2008, reporting began on central line-associated bloodstream infections in the intensive care unit;
on January 1, 2009, reporting began on ventilator-associated pneumonia; and
on January 1, 2010, reporting began on surgical site infections related to cardiac surgery, total hip and knee replacement, and hysterectomy.
The data on these infections must be collected according to the definitions and methods of the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). The data must be routinely submitted to the NHSN in accordance with its requirements. Hospitals must release to the DOH, or grant the DOH access to, their hospital-specific information as requested.
Annually on December 1, the DOH publishes on its website a health care-associated infection report that compares infection rates at individual hospitals. The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) also publishes various hospital quality measures on its website.
Summary of Bill: The requirement is modified for hospitals to report health care associated infections for specified surgical sites. For three years, or until the NHSN releases a revised module successfully interfacing with a majority of the reporting hospitals' computer systems, whichever occurs first, the hospitals must report the surgical site infection data to the WSHA's Quality Benchmarking System (QBS). The data must include the number of infections and the total number of surgeries performed for each type of surgery.
The data reported to the QBS are not to be included in the DOH's annual health care associated infection report. The WSHA must use the QBS data as the basis for an annual report published on its website, beginning December 1, 2010, comparing surgical site infection rates at individual hospitals.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Not requested.
Committee/Commission/Task Force Created: No.
Effective Date: The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: The Centers for Disease Control is modifying their system for reporting. The current system has excessive reporting requirements requiring many hours for staff to enter data. This is burdensome for staff. This bill will allow time to get the system fixed but enable us to have access to the information.
Persons Testifying: PRO: Representative Campbell, prime sponsor; Janette Harris, Multicare Health System; Carol Wagner, Washington State Hospital Association; Dennis M. Dennis, Washington State Department of Health; Lisa Thatcher, Washington State Hospital Association.