Ambulatory surgery centers will have to report their infection rates to the New Jersey Health Department, which will then track those rates and report them to the public, under a bill being considered by state legislators.

The legislation, which passed the Assembly last week and is up for a vote in the state Senate this week, comes after the health department issued its first hospital report cards on preventable errors, including post-op infection. Some lawmakers and the New Jersey Hospital Association are pushing for a similar level of scrutiny on practices at ASCs. "This is the first step to see what's going on in this incredibly important sector of health care," says bill sponsor Sen. Robert Gordon. "If we see there's a problem, we can make intelligent public policy to address this."

If the bill is passed, state-licensed ASCs would have 18 months to prepare before the reporting requirements take effect. The state health commissioner would be given authority to determine how infection information will be collected and made public on the Internet. Facilities would not be required to report financial or patient-level clinical data.

Steve Barainyak, MBA, CASC, executive director of Centennial Surgery Center in Voorhees, N.J., says he has "no problem" with the proposed reporting requirements. "We like many ASCs across the country have very low infection rates and welcome the opportunity to share this information with the communities for which we serve," he says. "I would also have no problem reporting our infection rates against those in the hospitals in our community, as I believe that the comparison will demonstrate that the services provided in ASCs is as good if not better than that which can be received in the area hospitals."

Irene Tsikitas