Notes:

To meet the NHSN definitions, infections must be validated using the hospital acquired infection (HAI) standards \cite{00010}. Infection rates  can  be  stratified  by  unit  types  further  defined  by  CDC \cite{00011}.  Infections  that  were  present  on  admission (POA) are not considered HAIs and not counted.

Data Collection:

VAP  and  ventilator-days  can  be  collected  through  surveillance  (collected  at  least  once  per  month  and  reported monthly)  or  gathered  through  electronic  documentation.    Denominators  documented  electronically  must  match manual counts (+/- 5%) for a 3 month validation period.

Mortality (will be calculated by the Patient Safety Movement Foundation):

The PSMF, when available, will use the mortality rates associated with Hospital Acquired Conditions targeted in the Partnership for Patient's grant funded Hospital Engagement Networks (HEN). The program targeted 10 hospital acquired conditions to reduce medical harm and costs of care. "At the outset of the PfP initiative, HHS agencies contributed their expertise to developing a measurement strategy by which to track national progress in patient safety--both in general and specifically related to the preventable HACs being addressed by the PfP. In conjunction with CMS's overall leadership of the PfP, AHRQ has helped coordinate development and use of the national measurement strategy. The results using this national measurement strategy have been referred to as the "AHRQ National Scorecard," which provides summary data on the national HAC rate." Based on these data the estimated additional inpatient mortality for VAP is 0.144 (144 per 1000 events) \cite{ahrq2013}.