About this Reporting Tool

When interpreting the data on this web site it is important to understand that differences among hospitals make it challenging to compare case counts and rates. For more relevant comparison, hospitals have been grouped by hospital type. Read more about hospital types.

Several factors can affect hospital rates of VRE (Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus) Bacteraemia :

• the size of the institution
• the complexity of the services offered
• the type of patient population served
• the physical layout of the hospital
• the number of people hospitalized for respiratory infection
• the use of antibiotics
• the percentage of people above 65 in the hospital

Hospital rates can also fluctuate significantly from one reporting period to another for a variety of reasons. For example, a small hospital with relatively few patient days when compared to larger institutions could see its rates vary dramatically based on one or two cases in any given month. These types of fluctuations will level out over a longer period of time. The ministry will report VRE trends when enough date becomes available.

The data presented in this site is best used to measure individual hospital performance over time, rather than to compare hospitals to each other. It is best used as a tool for hospitals to monitor their infection prevention and control programs. It is not intended to be the only source of information for making decisions about hospital care, nor is it information for generalizing about the overall quality of care provided by hospitals.

Data are presented in tables by hospital site. Included in the tables are data on the number of new hospital acquired VRE bacteraemia cases and the VRE bacteraemia rate for each month. The data presented are confirmed by hospitals and also reported on hospital websites.

The VRE bacteraemia rate is calculated by dividing the number of new cases observed in the hospital by the average number of patient-days per reporting period for the facility (e.g. 100 patients staying an average of 10 days = 1,000 patient-days). This rate calculation allows the level of hospital activity to be taken into account because this will fluctuate over time and is different across hospitals. Rates are expressed as cases per 1,000 patient-days.

Hospitals are grouped by hospital types to facilitate more relevant comparisons. These types encompass differences in hospital size and patient case mix in general. For example, teaching hospitals serve more complex or sicker patients than do smaller hospitals.

The total number of patients with hospital-acquired VRE bacteraemia during a calendar quarter and a provincial rate are presented as well. This rate is aggregated data. The provincial rate is compiled from the data for all hospitals in Ontario.

A hospital-acquired infection is an infection that a patient contracts while hospitalized. At the time of admission, the infection would not have been either present or developing. Hospital-acquired infections have a direct impact on patient safety and health care quality. They may be life-threatening and are costly to the health care system. Measuring, monitoring and reporting will allow hospitals to take the necessary steps to manage infections.

The main objective of the monitoring and reporting system is to track trends in VRE in each of the province’s hospitals in order to adopt control measures appropriate to each hospital facility. Reporting allows each hospital to measure its performance and the success of its infection prevention and control programs.

Public reporting is meant to inform the public on the monitoring of hospital acquired VRE.