Surgical Infection Prevention: Success Stories CALIFORNIA California Hospital Collaborative Results in Decreased Surgical Infections Participating in a statewide Surgical Infection Prevention Collaborative, California hospitals measurably decreased surgical infections by improving rates of appropriate antibiotic administration to surgical patients. Overall, teams from 26 participating hospitals decreased surgical infection rates by an average of 10.7% across 3 measures in just over a year through their voluntary participation in the Collaborative. The Collaborative learning sessions were led by Lumetra , California ’s Medicare Quality Improvement Organization, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Between April 2003 and April 2004, the participating hospitals teamed with Lumetra experts, sharing data and expertise, to decrease surgical infections through collaborative learning processes and implementing better methods of care. The Collaborative focused on three infection prevention quality measures: prophylactic antibiotic selection for surgical patients; prophylactic antibiotics received within 1 hour prior to surgical incision; and prophylactic antibiotics stopped within 24 hours of surgery end time. The teams made notable progress, including: Increasing from 91.3% to 97.4% the proportion of surgical patients receiving appropriate prophylactic antibiotics Increasing from 73.8% to 84.3% the proportion of surgical patients receiving prophylactic antibiotic within one hour prior to surgical incision Increasing from 46.0% to 61.7% the proportion of surgical patients with prophylactic antibiotics discontinued within 24 hours after surgery end time Source: Hospital self-reported Collaborative rates For more information, contact Diana Parker, Lumetra Public Affairs, at 415.677.2122 or dlparker@caqio.sdps.org This material was prepared by Lumetra, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for California, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents do not necessarily reflect CMS policy.

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