September 26, 2008

C. difficile associated disease rate reporting

On September 30, 2008, all Ontario hospitals will be required to publicly report their rates of C. difficile associated disease (CDAD). So just what exactly is C. difficile and CDAD? And why are hospitals now required to report these rates?

C. difficile is just one of the many types of bacteria that can be found in the environment and the intestines. For most people, it does not pose a health risk. However, C. difficile associated disease (CDAD) can sometimes occur when antibiotics are prescribed. Antibiotics work by killing off bacteria – the bad bacteria – but also good bacteria. This can allow the C. difficile bacteria to multiply, which can cause diarrhea and can damage the bowel.

CDAD is the most common cause of infectious diarrhea in healthcare facilities. The effects of CDAD are usually mild but can sometimes be more severe. In severe cases, surgery may be needed, and in extreme cases CDAD may cause death.

Rates of C. difficile are the first of eight patient safety indicators that hospitals will be required to publicly report. In addition to the Hospital’s own website, all of these indicators for all Ontario hospitals are posted on the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care website (www.health.gov.on.ca) patient safety.

It’s important to understand that the reporting of these rates is not the overall solution to reducing the rates of healthcare associated infections. They are tools which will provide hospitals like Runnymede Healthcare Centre with good information to assist them in understanding where patient safety issues may exist and to help them take appropriate and timely actions to improve their standards.

The public reporting builds on other initiatives such as Just Clean Your Hands – a hand hygiene program for all Ontario hospitals that was launched in March 2008 and the creation of 14 Regional Infection Control Networks across the province.