INFECTION PREVENTION
A Reset for Infection Prevention Protocols Infection prevention took a hit this past year, but rebuilding is already taking place
Is it fair for Medicare to penalize the bottom 25% of hospitals because of
The HAC Reduction program is just
patient infections or other avoidable medical complications? Fair or not, in February, the
one of several government programs that
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services did just that, announcing that 774 hospitals
are intended to reduce healthcare-associated
would lose 1% of their Medicare payments over the next 12 months (based on pre-CO-
infections. Others include the National
VID performance, from mid-2017 to 2019.) It’s part of Medicare’s Hospital Acquired
Action Plan to Prevent Health Care Associ-
Condition Reduction Program.
ated Infections, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Safety Program for Improving Antibiotic Use,
The American Hospital Associa-
Even the Medicare Payment Advisory
and CDC’s U.S. National Action Plan for
tion believes the six-year-old program is
Commission, which provides the U.S.
flawed, for a number of reasons: Some
Congress with analysis and policy advice
Do we need so many programs to
quality measures are inaccurate, and the
on the Medicare program, has criticized
monitor and (it is hoped) reduce health-
program fails to take into account patient
the so-called “tournament model” penalty
care-acquired infections? Do they work?
safety improvements that hospitals have
system, in which providers are scored
And even if they did, how has COVID-19
made, says AHA. What’s more, it unfairly
relative to one another, “despite the
affected them?
penalizes teaching hospitals, large hospi-
potential availability of clear, absolute and
tals and small hospitals.
prospectively set performance criteria.”
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Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.
“Each of these programs provides a framework for the infection control and
June 2021 | The Journal of Healthcare Contracting
