Reducing Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI) by Decreasing Use of Indwelling Catheters

Background: Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI) are considered a preventable hospital-acquired infection [2]. Centers for Medicaid and Medicare no longer reimburse hospitals for preventable CAUTIs [2]. A concerted effort to decrease our indwelling urinary catheter (IUC) rate has led to a decrease in the number of infections related to these catheters at Maine Medical Center (MMC) in Portland, Maine. Starting in 2012 as a result of The Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goal, the inter-professional CAUTI committee focus has been on decreasing utilization of IUC[1]. After an initial large decrease in utilization, the rates have flattened. The effort over the past year has been focused on breaking this plateau and lowering IUC use. As a result, MMC has decreased its CAUTI rate below the national bench mark