Successful Collaboration for Data-Driven Infection Prevention

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are among the most significant challenges for patient safety and the quality of healthcare delivery. They can lead to prolonged hospital stays, increased treatment efforts, and additional burdens for both patients and healthcare organisations.

Systematic surveillance of healthcare-associated infections is therefore a key foundation for effective infection prevention. Only when infection events are reliably detected, recorded in a standardised manner, and continuously analysed can targeted improvement measures be implemented and their impact evaluated.

University Hospital Basel (USB) has taken an important step towards digitalisation in this area. With a semi-automated surveillance solution, hospital-acquired infections can now be detected, assessed, and analysed more efficiently.

This innovative project was recently featured in the healthcare magazine Competence. We would like to sincerely thank University Hospital Basel and the Competence editorial team for the collaboration and the opportunity to share this important topic with a wider healthcare audience.

As part of this project, MedNota supported the development and implementation of the digital surveillance solution as an external software partner. Together with the clinical departments at University Hospital Basel, a solution was developed that meets the requirements of modern, data-driven infection surveillance. Based on this successful collaboration, the solution has been further developed into the MedNota Infection Surveillance Application and is now available to other hospitals and healthcare organisations. MedNota supports healthcare providers in monitoring healthcare-associated infections more efficiently, reducing manual workload, and making high-quality, structured data available for continuous improvement of patient safety.

The article can be found here:
https://competence.ch/spitalerworbene-infektionen-effizient-ueberwachen/

From Manual Search to Targeted Detection

The surveillance of hospital-acquired infections has traditionally involved significant manual effort. Potential cases must be identified, reviewed, and documented across various clinical information systems. This requires considerable human resources and makes continuous, comprehensive surveillance more challenging.

Together with University Hospital Basel, a digital solution was therefore developed that uses routine clinical data to automatically identify potential infection events and supports healthcare professionals with targeted case review.

The solution enables surveillance of key infection types, including:

• Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI)

• Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI)

• Non-Ventilator Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (nvHAP)

• Surgical Site Infections (SSI)

Relevant information from various clinical source systems is consolidated, analysed based on defined clinical criteria, and presented in a structured format to support infection assessment by healthcare professionals.

Monthly infection reports are then generated and distributed to the responsible departments, enabling targeted interventions and quality improvement measures.

Increased Efficiency and Transparency Through Digital Support

A key advantage of digital surveillance is that healthcare professionals no longer need to primarily search for possible infection cases manually. Instead, they can focus on reviewing targeted cases identified by the system.

Through semi-automated support, University Hospital Basel was able to:

• accelerate surveillance processes,

• reduce manual search efforts,

• prioritise potential infection events more effectively,

• and provide more transparent access to current infection data for clinical departments and nursing teams.

The implementation was carried out over several years through close collaboration between Infection Prevention and Control, Quality Management, Internal IT, and MedNota as an external software partner.

Together, clinical requirements were defined, case definitions were translated into digital workflows, data collection processes were developed, and reporting functionalities were implemented.

Another important advantage is the implemented interface to the Swissnoso database within the SSI module. Required data can be transferred directly from the digital surveillance system, eliminating manual duplicate data entry and ensuring efficient and consistent reporting.

Digital Solutions as the Foundation of Modern Patient Safety

The experience from the project at University Hospital Basel demonstrates the potential of modern digital solutions for infection prevention.

Efficient infection surveillance requires not only reliable data but also the ability to structure, analyse, and translate this data into clinically relevant information. Digital solutions can support healthcare professionals by enabling more targeted use of resources and allowing experts to focus on cases where their expertise creates the greatest value.

With increasing demands for quality assurance, patient safety, and efficient processes, flexible, interoperable, and data-driven solutions are becoming increasingly important for healthcare organisations.

MedNota: Digital Platform for Quality of Care

MedNota provides digital solutions for healthcare organisations with the goal of supporting quality processes, making clinical data actionable, and reducing workload through intelligent automation.

The surveillance solution described in the Competence article, our MedNota Infection Surveillance Application, was developed together with University Hospital Basel and implemented by MedNota as the software partner.

Our infection surveillance solution supports healthcare organisations with:

• automated identification of potential infection cases from routine clinical data based on Swissnoso and CDC guidelines,

• standardised case review and documentation,

• SSI patient surveys,

• transparent presentation of relevant quality indicators,

• efficient surveillance of healthcare-associated infections,

• integration into existing clinical data environments.

The Infection Surveillance Application is part of the integrated MedNota Platform, which also includes applications for patient-reported data collection such as PROMs, PREMs, and digital self-anamnesis.

Interested in Digital Infection Surveillance?

The successful implementation at University Hospital Basel demonstrates how digital solutions can make infection surveillance more efficient, transparent, and sustainable.

Hospitals and healthcare organisations interested in learning more about our solution are welcome to explore it through an informal discussion or a live demonstration.

Upon request, a reference visit at University Hospital Basel can be organised to experience the practical application of the solution and learn directly from the project experience.

Hospitals looking to further develop their infection surveillance processes through digital solutions are invited to get in touch. Together, we can explore potential use cases and evaluate the implementation of an individual pilot project.

We look forward to connecting with healthcare organisations that aim to further strengthen patient safety through innovative digital solutions.