Decrease of Hospital-Onset Clostridium difficile through Enhanced Electronic Decision Support

Background Literature supports appropriate testing as a key factor affecting hospital onset (HO) Clostridium difficile (CDIF). It was recognized that our institution was a significant outlier in HO CDIF with a standardized infection ratio (SIR) of 2.567 in the second quarter of 2016 compared with a national SIR of 0.997. A February 2015 – April 2015 line list of CDIF LabID events were pulled from the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and medical records were reviewed for test appropriateness based on CDC/IDSA guidelines. Of these, 50% were related to inappropriate testing. Infection Prevention and Quality identified this as an opportunity for improvement and Executives dedicated resources to reduction efforts.