The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data on Jul. 15 showing a decrease in healthcare-associated infections in hospitals across the United States. The survey found that, in 2023, about 1 in 38 hospitalized patients had at least one healthcare-associated infection, compared to 1 in 31 patients in 2015.
“CDC and CMS together are reducing healthcare-associated infections, a leading cause of mortality in America,” said Acting CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD. “When federal agencies collaborate with specific goals and accountability, including use of quality measures, patients benefit from better care in clinical settings. More needs to be done but this effort is notable in its progress on a very challenging issue. I am pleased to see these efforts save lives and reduce the cost of care.”
The data comes from the CDC’s Emerging Infections Program survey conducted across 218 hospitals involving over 13,000 patients using National Healthcare Safety Network definitions to identify infections. Despite improvements, an estimated 518,000 such infections occurred nationwide last year.
Pneumonia, surgical site infections, and gastrointestinal infections were identified as the most common types of hospital-acquired infections; more than half were not associated with medical devices or procedures. The CDC collaborates with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to maintain systems for quality reporting and national transparency through NHSN.
“This is good news for patient safety and healthcare quality — we’re thankful for the public health and healthcare partners that helped drive this progress,” said Shelley Magill, MD, PhD of CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. “We are committed to working with partners to prioritize patient safety and invest in innovative strategies to further reduce healthcare-associated infections and protect the health of all Americans.” CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said, “No patient should leave the hospital sicker than when they arrived… Progress so far is promising but preventable harm across our healthcare system must continue to decline.”
The findings highlight significant reductions specifically among central line-associated bloodstream infections as well as catheter-associated urinary tract and Clostridioides difficile infections; however, rates for surgical site infection and pneumonia showed little change.