Abstract
The infection control communities in Britain and the United States (US) are experiencing an extraordinary conceptual shift with legislated mandatory reporting of hospital infections. In Britain, this shift began in 2001 with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia episodes (1), which are reported to the National Health Service and are publically available on a Health Protection Agency Web site. In the US, the impetus for public reporting of infection rates has come from consumer groups (2). These organizations have bypassed health care organizations and public health and other practitioners, and have addressed their demands to state legislatures. At least eight states have now passed and several more are considering legislation to mandate reporting. The process has been rancorous and, at least initially, vigorously opposed by health care organizations and infection control practitioners.