The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Virginia Chapter (APIC-VA) is a non-profit, multidisciplinary, statewide organization consisting of 200 members, whose mission is to improve health and promote safety by reducing risks of infection and adverse outcomes to patients and healthcare personnel.  We applaud efforts to improve the quality of patient care, appreciate the opportunity to provide input to state reporting regulation proposals and shall continue to assist in these efforts through the sharing of our expertise in the prevention of healthcare acquired infections (HAI). 

The current reproposal by the VDH Board of Health to 12VAC5-90, Regulations for Disease Reporting and Control are defined in the Virginia Register of Regulations, Volume 30, Issue 6, 11/18/2013, pages 697-704.  The reproposal summary states, “The reproposed amendments provide that data reported into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program shall be shared, through the NHSN, with the department.”

Since the advent of mandatory reporting in Virginia, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has worked closely with APIC-VA to determine the most efficient means of measuring public safety in hospitals, while remaining sensitive to the ever-increasing demands made upon hospitals and Infection Control Preventionists (ICPs).  The reproposals provide VDH with additional measures related to HAIs from acute-care hospitals without increasing the reporting burden on hospitals and ICPs to submit the information.  

As the aforementioned reproposal supports our mission, APIC-VA supports the amendment as written.

Respectfully submitted,

APIC Virginia, Chapter 12