Bill Text: NJ S817 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Permits certain patient data to be reported to DHSS under "Health Care Facility-Associated Infection Reporting and Prevention Act".
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)
Status: (Passed) 2011-04-06 - Approved P.L.2011, c.42. [S817 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S817-Chaptered.html
An Act concerning certain health care facility-associated infection reporting requirements and amending P.L.2007, c.196.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.2007 c.196 (C.26:2H-12.41) is amended to read as follows:
3. A general hospital licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et al.) shall be required to report quarterly to the Department of Health and Senior Services, in a form and manner prescribed by the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services:
a. process quality indicators of hospital infection control that have been identified by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as selected by the commissioner in consultation with the Quality Improvement Advisory Committee within the department; and
b. beginning 30 days after the adoption of regulations pursuant to this act, data on infection rates for the major site categories that define health care facility-associated infection locations, multiple infections, and device-related and non-device related infections, identified by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as selected by the commissioner in consultation with the Quality Improvement Advisory Committee within the department.
[The information shall be transmitted in such a manner as to not include identifying information about patients.]
(cf: P.L.2007, c.196, s.3)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill amends the "Health Care Facility-Associated Infection Reporting and Prevention Act," P.L. 2007, C.196 (C.26:2H-12.39 et seq.) to allow for the transmission of data that identifies patients, thereby enabling the Department of Health and Senior Services to independently verify data submitted by hospitals.
A recent Government Accountability Office report evaluating state infection reporting programs found that systems which do not independently verify data pose a substantial risk of misleading the public, because some hospitals may provide more accurate and complete data than others.
Permits certain patient data to be reported to DHSS under "Health Care Facility-Associated Infection Reporting and Prevention Act."
