Statistical Process Control Charts for Monitoring Staphylococcus aureus Bloodstream Infections in Australian Health Care Facilities

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection (SAB) in health care settings contributes significantly to mortality, and improved processes are associated with reduced burden of infection. In Australia, health care-associated SAB (HA-SAB) rates are reported as a health care performance indicator, but standardized methods for analyzing longitudinal data are not applied. Our objective was to evaluate the utility of statistical process control chart methodology for reporting HA-SAB and flagging higher than expected rates. METHODS: A real-world test data set was defined as HA-SAB surveillance data collected by 155 Australian health care facilities between June 1, 2015, and June 30, 2017..