Analysis of aggregated hospital infection data for accountability

Analysis and reporting of among-institution aggregated hospital-acquired infection data are necessary for transparency and accountability. Different analytical methods are required for ensuring transparency and accountability for within-institution sequential analysis. In addition, unbiased summary information is needed for planning and informing the public. We believe that implementation of systems based on evidence is the key to improving institutional performance and safety. This must be accompanied by compliance, outcome audit and sequential analysis of outcome data, e.g. using statistical process control methods. Checklists can be a valuable aid for ensuring implementation of evidence-based systems. Aggregated outcome data analysis for transparency and accountability should concentrate primarily on accurately presenting the outcomes together with their precision. We describe tabulations, funnel plots and random-effects (shrinkage) analysis and avoid comparisons using league tables, star ratings and confidence intervals.