Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/626854
15 INFECTION PREVENTION Medicare Cuts Payments to 758 Hospitals for HACs: 6 Things to Know By Ayla Ellison I n fiscal year 2016, 758 hospitals are experiencing reduced Medicare payments for being among those with the highest rates of hospital-acquired conditions. Here are six things to know about the HAC Reduction Program and the hospitals receiving penalties. 1. Created under the Affordable Care Act, the HAC Reduction Program is aimed at preventing harm to patients. 2. In FY 2016, 758 out of 3,308 hospitals subject to the HAC Reduction Program are in the worst performing quartile. ese facilities will have their Medicare payments reduced by 1 percent for all discharges occurring between Oct. 1, 2015, and Sept. 30, 2016. 3. CMS said 54 percent of the hospitals that were in the worst performing quartile in FY 2016 were also in that quartile in FY 2015. 4. e FY 2016 penalties will total approximately $364 million, according to CMS. 5. There are two domains used to score hospitals in FY 2016. The first domain includes the Patient Safety Indicator 90 Composite and is weighted at 25 percent. The second domain is weighted at 75 percent and includes three measures: central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections and surgical site infections. 6. Hospitals are classified based on their measure results, with each hospital assigned a score between one and 10 for each measure. In FY 2016, hospitals with a total HAC score greater than 6.75 are subject to a payment reduction. n Clinical Workstations Are Overlooked During Cleaning: 3 Study Findings By Shannon Barnet A pilot study published in the December issue of the Amer- ican Journal of Infection Con- trol shows clinical workstations within hospital intensive care units may serve as a haven for bacteria due to improper cleaning. Researchers conducted the study using three different sampling methods in an ICU to try to discern if and where multidrug-resistant organisms might remain after routine environmental cleaning. They also followed around healthcare workers from workstations to patient bedsides to sample common- ly touched objects along the way for MDROs. They found: 1. Nine of the 13 MDROs identified came from clinical workstations (on chairs, clipboards, keyboards, tele- phones and a computer mouse). 2. Adenosine triphosphate testing for bio-contamination on environmental surfaces was more than seven times as likely to positively identify MDROs as microbial swabbing (33.3 percent compared to 4.3 percent). 3. There was a greater density of pos- itive MDRO locations around and within the clinical staff workstation than immediate patient zones. "In this pilot study, we found that many of the high-touch objects from which MDROs were recovered were not items included in cleaning protocols," concluded the study authors. "The find- ings of this study suggest the need to review the hygiene standards adopted in the clinical workspace, away from the immediate patient zones in busy ICUs, and indicate that ATP testing may help identify high-touch objects with less than optimal cleanliness." n INFECTION PREVENTION