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For the study, researchers examined claims data from 96 Michigan hospitals to compare urinary tract infections that are coded as hospital-acquired and catheter-associated events. The researchers also determined how often hospital payments were affected by catheter-associated urinary tract infections.
The researchers found only 2.6 percent of all hospital-acquired infections were described in the claims data as catheter-related, making financial savings based on nonpayment negligible. Further, epidemiologic studies report that most (59-86 percent) hospital-acquired urinary tract infections are catheter-associated, calling into question the accuracy of the claims data.
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