Public Reporting of Infection Control Data Organizations not affiliated with the Joint Commission produce products and sponsor education programs related to Joint Commission accreditation. At times, the information provided in these products and programs is confusing, misleading, or inaccurate. The Fact on Fiction column identifies this misinformation with the intent of preventing confusion and correcting misperceptions in the field. This column is included in Perspectives on an “as needed” basis, whenever misleading or inaccurate information on Joint Commission initiatives is published. Questions about Joint Commission initiatives can be directed to perspectives@jcaho.org or SharedVisions@jcaho.org.
Public Reporting of Infection Control Data
The front cover of the February 14, 2005, edition of Inside the Joint Commission, published by Decision Health, includes an article on public reporting of infection control (IC) data. This article erroneously reports that the Joint Commission joined a consensus to create a national standard for publicly reporting IC data.
The Joint Commission was invited to attend and serve on a panel at the “Healthcare-Associated Infections: Realizing the Benefits of Mandatory Public Reporting” consensus conference convened by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. During the panel discussions, the Joint Commission offered its position that public reporting of infection control data needs national leadership, to be viewed as educational—not punitive—and as a user-friendly reporting system with standardization and built-in incentives to promote reporting. This meeting did not result in the Joint Commission creating a national standard for publicly reporting IC data.