Financial support for small hospitals to report antibiotic use data to the National Healthcare Safety Network

 

TO: Colorado Acute Care Hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals, Long Term Acute Care Hospitals, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities   FROM: Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE)   Background. Antibiotic use data are essential to inform antibiotic stewardship programs within hospitals and public health efforts to support antibiotic stewardship. The National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Antibiotic Use and Resistance (AUR) Module allows facilities to report and analyze antimicrobial use and/or resistance data to inform benchmarking, reduce antimicrobial resistant infections through antimicrobial stewardship, and interrupt transmission of resistant pathogens at individual facilities or facility networks. The AUR Module has two options. The AU Option allows facilities to report and analyze antimicrobial use. The AR Option allows facilities to report and analyze antimicrobial resistance. The AU Option does not allow manual data entry. Data from the electronic medication administration record (eMAR) or barcoding medication administration (BCMA) system must be translated into Clinical Data Architecture (CDA) format for upload into NHSN. Similarly, AR Option data require electronic submission to NHSN.   Objective of this funding. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) can support hospitals with limited resources to begin uploading antibiotic use data into the AU Option of NHSN. CDPHE can reimburse 25 hospitals per year, up to $2,500 each, to work with vendor systems designed to package and submit data to NHSN.   Eligibility. Preference will be given to hospitals with <100 beds that have not yet begun reporting to the AUR Option (Tier 1), followed by hospitals with <100 beds that require support to maintain AU Option data reporting (Tier 2). Support may be extended to additional hospitals or for AR Option reporting at a later date, if funds allow. The funding is part of the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity cooperative agreement with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is available to Colorado hospitals in two cycles: August 1, 2022 - July 31, 2023 and August 1, 2023 - July 31, 2024.   Requirements. Funding must be used for work with vendors that have passed AU synthetic dataset validation as listed on the NHSN website. CDPHE can only provide reimbursement for work completed during the funding cycle and cannot provide reimbursement for work completed prior to the funding cycle or stipends or grants for work yet to be performed. Hospitals enrolled in the first funding cycle must submit documentation of payment to an approved vendor and an invoice for a single sum reimbursement on or before July 31, 2023. Reporting of AU Option data to CDPHE is not a requirement, although we will request and encourage access to the data through a voluntary data use agreement facilitated by NHSN.   Utility of the AUR Option. Antibiotic stewardship teams can use the AU Option to track and report antibiotic use as part of an antibiotic stewardship program that meets CDC’s Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship. Please see AU Option Case Examples listed by NHSN.   Application. Please complete an application here: https://redcap.link/61cfuq3t. The application window for the first funding cycle is open and will remain open until available slots have been filled. CDPHE will review applications and enroll facilities on a monthly schedule, beginning July 1, 2022. Enrollment reserves funds for later reimbursement for eligible work up to $2,500 once complete. Questions? Email Lynda Saignaphone at Lynda.Saignaphone@state.co.us.