Maine Revised Statutes Title 22. Health and Welfare § 8761. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile

1. Enrollment. No later than October 1, 2011, enroll and shall maintain enrollment after that date in the National Healthcare Safety Network within the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, referred to in this section as “the network”;

2. Submission of MRSA data. No later than October 1, 2011, submit to the network infection data for nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, referred to in this section as “MRSA,” for all inpatients on a monthly basis in accordance with the protocols defined by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;

3. Access to MRSA data. No later than November 1, 2011, authorize, for public health surveillance purposes only, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention's access to the facility-specific infection rates for nosocomial MRSA contained in the network database;

4. Authorization to Maine Health Data Organization regarding MRSA data. Upon completion of data validation by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention in partnership with a statewide collaborative for infection prevention, authorize, for public reporting purposes only, the Maine Health Data Organization's access to the facility-specific infection rates for nosocomial MRSA contained in the network database;

5. Submission of C. diff data. Beginning January 1, 2012, submit to the network infection data for nosocomial Clostridium difficile, referred to in this section as “C. diff,” for all inpatients on a monthly basis in accordance with the protocols defined by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;

6. Access to C. diff data. No later than July 1, 2012, authorize, for public health surveillance purposes only, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention's access to the facility-specific infection rates for nosocomial C. diff contained in the network database; and

7. Authorization to Maine Health Data Organization regarding C. diff data. Upon completion of data validation by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention in partnership with a statewide collaborative for infection prevention, authorize, for public reporting purposes only, the Maine Health Data Organization's access to the facility-specific infection rates for nosocomial C. diff contained in the network database.

The Maine Health Data Organization shall adopt rules regarding public reporting of data reported to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding MRSA and C. diff in accordance with this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.