PDI and JJ Partnership Podcast

That's fantastic.

I think as we talk about bundles and things of that sort, it's really important.

You can't have one magic gadget to fix the problem, for sure.

Everything's about a layered approach.

100%.

Let's start with the problem.

CLABSI has been the standard metric for years.

But what's actually missing and why does it matter?

I can take this one, Danielle.

So Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infections, or CLABSIs, became a national CMS reporting requirement back in 2011.

And CDC does estimate that roughly 18,000 events still occur annually in the U.S. in the acute care hospitals.

So no small issue.

But over time, reporting has expanded steadily from just ICUs to medical and surgical wards and just this year to inpatient oncology units, really capturing some of our most vulnerable patients, which is so important.

And that level of accountability and visibility has worked.

National CLABSI rates have declined over time, which is a positive thing.

But here's the gap.

Bloodstream infections unrelated to central lines remain a major and largely untracked problem.

And the science shows that they carry the potential for poor outcomes, such as longer stays, higher costs, and greater mortality.

That's exactly why a new surveillance definition, hospital-onset bacteremia and fungimia, or HOB, is being proposed.

It's a broader measure that's independent of device placement, that captures bloodstream infections regardless of source.

Without the manual burden of review, CLABSI surveillance requires for infection preventionists.

So this proposed expansion in surveillance doesn't diminish what's already worked for us.

We know CLABSI bundles work because those rates have dropped.

And the evidence is clear on why.

Heavy microbial colonization at the insertion site and at the catheter hub are known risk factors.

That's fantastic.

I think as we talk about bundles and things of that sort, it's really important.

You can't have one magic gadget to fix the problem, for sure.

Everything's about a layered approach.

100%.

Let's start with the problem.

CLABSI has been the standard metric for years.

But what's actually missing and why does it matter?

I can take this one, Danielle.

So Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infections, or CLABSIs, became a national CMS reporting requirement back in 2011.

And CDC does estimate that roughly 18,000 events still occur annually in the U.S. in the acute care hospitals.

So no small issue.

But over time, reporting has expanded steadily from just ICUs to medical and surgical wards and just this year to inpatient oncology units, really capturing some of our most vulnerable patients, which is so important.

And that level of accountability and visibility has worked.

National CLABSI rates have declined over time, which is a positive thing.

But here's the gap.

Bloodstream infections unrelated to central lines remain a major and largely untracked problem.

And the science shows that they carry the potential for poor outcomes, such as longer stays, higher costs, and greater mortality.

That's exactly why a new surveillance definition, hospital-onset bacteremia and fungimia, or HOB, is being proposed.

It's a broader measure that's independent of device placement, that captures bloodstream infections regardless of source.

Without the manual burden of review, CLABSI surveillance requires for infection preventionists.

So this proposed expansion in surveillance doesn't diminish what's already worked for us.

We know CLABSI bundles work because those rates have dropped.

And the evidence is clear on why.

Heavy microbial colonization at the insertion site and at the catheter hub are known risk factors.