California lags in drug-resistant infection reporting

Earlier this month, California public health officials announced they'd begin tracking community-based MRSA infections, e.g. those contracted in schools, gyms and other community settings. At the time they argued, in essence, that while community-based MRSA is less common than healthcare-acquired MRSA, it's not as well understood. Now, these officials are taking a drubbing. State health experts and consumer advocates are saying that this measure is woefully inadequate, given that the vast majority of MRSA infections occur in healthcare facilities. Epidemiologists say that in focusing on community-based forms of MRSA, California is behind at least 15 other states which are currently tracking MRSA within provider settings. In fact, several of those states not only are collecting facility-based data, but are making it available to the public or setting plans to do so.

The California Nurses Association is pushing to see infection-rate reporting made public for all of the state's 6,000-odd healthcare facilities. Meanwhile, hospitals continue to resist such disclosures, saying that such reporting would impose serious staffing costs and lots of taxing paperwork.

To learn more about California's infection-reporting plans:
- read this Los Angeles Times piece

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