[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 10524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04069]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Request for Comments on the Proposed 2020 Targets for the
National Action Plan To Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections: Road
Map To Elimination (Phase I: Acute Care Hospital) Measures
AGENCY: Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of
the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of the Secretary, Department
of Health and Human Services.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP),
on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS)
Federal Steering Committee for the Prevention of Health Care-Associated
Infections (HAI), proposes new targets for the acute care hospital
measures for the National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care-Associated
Infections: Road Map to Elimination (HAI Action Plan). The five-year
targets identified in the initial HAI Action Plan expired at the end of
2013; therefore, new targets are being proposed, taking into
consideration the progress made since the HAI Action Plan was initially
released in 2009. Similar to the initial HAI Action Plan, the proposed
targets will reflect improvement efforts over a five-year period. As
such, the Department is proposing a baseline of January 2015 and
individualized targets for each of the health care-associated
infections identified in the HAI Action Plan to be achieved by December
2020.
HHS invites public and private health-related professionals,
organizations, and consumer representatives to submit written comments
on the proposed 2020 HAI acute care hospital targets, found at http://www.health.gov/hai/prevent_hai.asp#hai_measures.
DATES: Comments on the proposed HAI 2020 acute care hospital targets
must be received no later than 5 p.m. on March 27, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons or organizations are invited to submit
written comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected].
Mail/Courier: Office of Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion, Attn: Division of Health Care Quality, Department of Health
and Human Services, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite LL100, Rockville, MD
20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Gallardo, Health Policy Fellow,
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion via electronic mail
at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In recognition of HAIs as an important
public health and patient safety issue, in July 2008 HHS established
the Federal Steering Committee for the Prevention of Health Care-
Associated Infections, led by Dr. Don Wright, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Health, Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. The
Steering Committee was charged with developing a comprehensive strategy
to prevent and reduce HAIs and developing a plan which established
national five-year targeted goals for HAI prevention and outlined key
actions for achieving identified short- and long-term objectives.
The first iteration of the HAI Action Plan was published in 2009
and focused on addressing six high priority HAI-related areas within
the acute care hospital setting: Surgical site infections, central
line-associated bloodstream infections, ventilator-associated events
(formerly ventilator-associated pneumonia), catheter-associated urinary
tract infections, Clostridium difficile infections, and methicillin-
resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections.
In April 2013, ODPHP, on behalf of the Steering Committee, released
a revised HAI Action Plan reflecting a significant update and expansion
from the initial version. In addition to documenting the progress
toward achieving the original five-year acute care hospital HAI
targets, the updated HAI Action Plan included new sections specific to
infection reduction in ambulatory surgical centers, end-stage renal
disease facilities, and long-term care facilities, as well as a section
on increasing influenza vaccination of health care personnel.
With the expiration of the HAI Action Plan acute care hospitals
time period for measuring the initial goals occurring at the end of
2013, the Steering Committee has identified new five-year goals to
measure national progress in HAI reduction. The new goals will continue
to use data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's
National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) as well as data from the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Healthcare Cost and
Utilization Program (HCUP). The new targets will set baseline rates
using data from 2015 and establish goals to be achieved by December
2020. The proposed targets take into account HAI reductions to date and
will reflect progress that takes place between 2013 and 2015. Selecting
a single baseline year for measuring progress toward the targeted goals
in acute care hospitals--and using that same baseline year for purposes
of quality measure reporting to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) and public reporting on CMS's Hospital Compare Web
site--will improve consistency in federal HAI measurement and reporting
efforts. The proposed targets are intended to align with the HAI
targets in Healthy People 2020 as well as other Departmental
initiatives.
The Steering Committee has provided a template for all acute care
hospital HAI targets, which is available at http://www.health.gov/hai/prevent_hai.asp#hai_measures. The template identifies the proposed
target or recommended action (i.e., suspension of target) for each of
the acute care hospital measures identified in the revised HAI Action
Plan.
Interested persons or organizations are invited to submit written
comments for each acute care hospital HAI measure. Written feedback
should not exceed more than two pages per HAI measure. To be
considered, the person or representative from the organization must
self-identify and submit the written comments by close of business on
March 27, 2014.
Dated: February 19, 2014.
Don Wright,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Director, Office of Disease
Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Health.
[FR Doc. 2014-04069 Filed 2-24-14; 8:45 am]
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