MEDIA ALERT

As federal and state policymakers look for ways to dramatically cut rates of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), a new report released July 27 by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) offers lessons learned from nine states that require healthcare facilities to report infections. HAIs are among the leading causes of death in the United States, accounting for 99,000 deaths per year.

NCSL examined state legislation passed between 2005 and 2009 and interviewed state legislators, health care providers, and other stakeholders in nine states: Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Giving hospitals time to adjust to reporting requirements, providing enough funding to carry out reporting initiatives, and establishing a multi-disciplinary advisory committee to help develop the reporting program were cited, among others, as key to creating successful reporting programs.

Mandatory reporting is a critical weapon in the war against spreading resistance, said Ramanan Laxminarayan, senior fellow at Extending the Cure, which sponsored the report. These findings will help state lawmakers who may be considering new HAI legislation and give states a leg up on crafting effective programs, he said.

The number of states with mandatory reporting has grown from six to 27 since 2005.

Extending the Cure is funded in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation s Pioneer Portfolio.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Griffin LeNoir, Extending the Cure,
202-328-5096, [email protected], or
Kay Campbell, Burness Communications
301-652-1558
[email protected]