A new study published today in PLoS Medicine re-evaluates the role of public reporting of hospital-acquired infection data. The study, conducted by Nick Daneman and colleagues, used data from all 180 acute care hospitals in Ontario, Canada. The investigators compared the rates of infection of Clostridium difficile colitis prior to, and after, the introduction of public reporting of hospital performance; public reporting was associated with a 26% reduction in C. difficile cases.
The authors comment "This longitudinal population-based cohort study has confirmed an immense burden of Clostridium difficile infection in Ontario, while heralding mandatory hospital reporting as one potential means to reduce this burden".
Funding: ND was supported by a Clinician Scientist award and AG by a New Investigator award, both from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. This study was conducted at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), which is funded by an annual grant from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC). The opinions, results and conclusions reported in this paper are those of the authors and are independent from the funding sources. No endorsement by ICES or the Ontario MOHLTC is intended or should be inferred.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Daneman N, Stukel TA, Ma X, Vermeulen M, Guttmann A (2012) Reduction in Clostridium difficile Infection Rates after Mandatory Hospital Public Reporting: Findings from a Longitudinal Cohort Study in Canada. PLoS Med 9(7): e1001268. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001268
CONTACT:
Nick Daneman
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
nick.daneman@sunnybrook.ca
PLOS Medicine