A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require the department of health and human services to establish a statewide surveillance and reporting system for health care‑associated infections and to subject hospitals to the requirements of the statewide surveillance and reporting system.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 6 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part to read:
"Part 1A.  Health Care‑Associated Infections.
"§ 130A‑150.  Statewide surveillance and reporting system.
(a)	By December 31, 2011, the Department shall establish a statewide surveillance and reporting system for specified health care‑associated infections in accordance with rules adopted by the Commission pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
(b)	The Commission shall adopt rules necessary to implement the statewide surveillance and reporting system established pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. The rules shall specify uniform standards for surveillance and reporting of specified health care‑associated infections under the statewide surveillance and reporting system. The uniform standards shall include at least all of the following:
(1)	A preference for electronic surveillance of specified health care‑associated infections to the greatest extent practicable.
(2)	A requirement for electronic reporting of specified health care‑associated infections.
(c)	Each hospital, as defined in G.S. 131E‑76(3), is subject to the statewide surveillance and reporting system established in accordance with subsection (a) of this section and shall be responsible for health care‑associated infections surveillance and reporting of specified health care‑associated infections data to the Department through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Health Care Safety Network.
(d)	The Department may release to the public aggregated data on health care‑associated infections that does not contain social security numbers or other personal identifying information only if it deems the release of this data to be in the public interest."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.