Infection control measure performance in long-term care hospitals and their relationship to Joint Commission accreditation.
Organizations such as the Joint Commission provide resources and guidance to help hospitals reduce healthcare associated infections (HAIs). Using CMS data from 2017 to 2021, this analysis compared the incidence of HAIs in Joint Commission-accredited versus non-accredited long-term care hospitals (LTCHs). The researchers found that accredited LTCHs had lower rates of central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSI) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) compared to non-accredited hospitals; no differences were observed for Clostridium difficile infections (CDI).