HAIs decreased in 2023

For the report, researchers analyzed data from over 38,000 active hospitals, long-term care facilities, and other healthcare facilities that were part of CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network. The report measured rates of six different HAIs:

• Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs)
•   Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs)
• Ventilator-associated events (VAEs)
• Surgical site infections (SSIs)
• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream events
• Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) events

At acute care hospitals, CLABSI rates decreased by 15% from 2022 to 2023. CAUTI rates also decreased by 11% and VAEs decreased by 5%. There was also a 16% decrease in MRSA infections and a 13% decrease in C. difficile infections. Rates for CAUTIs, MRSA infections, and C. difficile infections were lower than their pre-pandemic levels, according to the report.

At long-term acute care hospitals, there was a 13% decrease in C. difficile infections in 2023. At inpatient rehabilitation facilities, there was an 8% increase in CAUTIs but a 14% decrease in C. difficile infections.

At the state level, 30 states performed better on at least two infection types, 21 states performed better on at least three infection types, and 9 states performed better on at least four infection types. However, two states performed worse on two or more infection types.

More work needs to be done to sustain improvements

Since the pandemic, hospitals have made considerable effort to improve their safety practices. Other reports have also found similar findings to CDC. For example, a report from the American Hospital Association (AHA) and Vizient found that hospital mortality rates have improved, there are fewer HAIs, and more patients are getting preventive screenings.

"[H]ospitals have made significant improvements on pre-pandemic performance in key patient safety outcomes," said AHA CEO Rick Pollack. "Hospitals' commitment to improving patient outcomes and enhancing the patient experience continues to drive these efforts forward."

However, even with progress being made, health experts say that hospitals need to continue their efforts to improve care quality and safety.

"There's more procedures, more medications, more things we can do for patients to try to help them, and we need to never let our guard down," said Steven Diaz, CMO of MaineGeneral Health. "We always have to be vigilant."

"While much progress has been made, more needs to be done to prevent healthcare-associated infections in a variety of settings," CDC said. "Full engagement between local, state and federal public health agencies and their partners in the healthcare sector through initiatives such as prevention collaboratives is vital to sustaining and extending HAI surveillance and prevention progress."

Advisory Board's hospital safety resources

For more insights on efforts to improve hospital safety, check out these Advisory Board resources:

This expert insight outlines the four root causes of stagnating clinical quality and what you can do to address them. Similarly, this expert insight offers leaders four ways to "fire-proof" their quality efforts.

We also have research on how technology is being used to improve patient care and safety. This field guide describes 10 ways computer vision could transform the future of healthcare, including for patient care and safety. In the near term, it is already being used for surgical assistance, patient monitoring, and clinician and workforce monitoring.

Similarly, this expert insight explains how four specialty service lines — cardiovascular, oncology, behavioral health, and maternal health — are using remote patient monitoring to improve patient outcomes, increase access to care, and more. (AHA News, 11/6; Dall, CIDRAP News, 11/7; DeSilva, Modern Healthcare, 11/8; CDC Current HAI Progress Report, accessed 11/11)