Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are infections that patients acquire during the course of receiving medical treatment for other conditions. HAIs are the most common complication affecting hospitalized patients, with between 5 and 10 percent of patients acquiring one or more infections during their hospitalization.
All Maryland hospitals collect and report to the Commission a set of three process measures designed to prevent infections for patients undergoing hip, knee, and colon surgery: (1) proportion of patients receiving antimicrobial prophylaxis within one hour prior to incision (SCIP-INF-1); (2) proportion of patients receiving the appropriate antimicrobial agent based on current guidelines (SCIP-INF-2); and, (3) proportion of patients whose antimicrobial prophylaxis is discontinued within 24-hours following surgery (SCIP-INF-3). These measures, referred to as Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measures, have been endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF) and adopted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Joint Commission, and Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA). These process measures are publicly reported for each Maryland hospital on the Maryland Hospital Performance Evaluation Guide.
To assist in developing a plan for expanding the HAI data on the Hospital Performance Evaluation Guide, the Commission appointed an HAI Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). The Report and Recommendations of the Technical Advisory Committee on Healthcare-Associated Infections for Developing a System for Collecting and Publicly Reporting Data on Healthcare-Associated Infections in Maryland was completed in December 2007.The Report outlines recommendations regarding steps that the Commission should take over the two-year period, 2008-2009, to expand the Hospital Performance Evaluation Guide to include additional information on HAI.
The Commission is now working to implement the Technical Advisory Committee’s recommendations.
National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Enrollment and Training
Memorandum to Hospital CEOs (3-28-2008) 
Maryland Register Notice (4-11-2008)
NHSN Training Meeting Agenda (4-25-2008)
