In a recent development that carried heavy implications for the healthcare industry, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) disbanded the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC). The onus of this decision, according to Andrew Nixon, communications director for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), roots back to a directive from President Trump intending to streamline the federal workforce. This move targeted ‘unnecessary’ government entities and federal advisory committees, and HICPAC fell under this criterion, despite its pivotal role in upholding the standards of infection control and securing public health. The committee, established in 1991, was specifically assigned with the task of updating healthcare guidelines and policy statement related to infectious disease prevention in American hospitals.
The sudden termination of HICPAC has sparked concerns among the community of infection prevention and control professionals. Organizations like the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) are now urging CDC and HHS to reinstate the committee. ‘HICPAC is a crucial pillar of our nation’s public health infrastructure,’ observed the two institutions in a joint statement. ‘It offers evidence-driven guidance directly influencing federal healthcare standards.’
SHEA President, Dr. David J. Weber, at the recent SHEA Spring conference, expressed concern over the survival of critical committees and programs like HICPAC. An associate chief medical officer at UNC Medical Center, Dr. Weber points out the absence of any other federal panel capable of fulfilling the role that HICPAC did. He emphasized the significant weight the recommendations of the CDC carried across different states and their respective health departments.
HICPAC was characterised by its periodic meetings where medical guidance was generated and disseminated in relation to prevention of health care-associated infections across various medical establishments. This came to a halt after communications between the CDC and committee members ceased in February, confirmed by Connie Steed, another HICPAC member. Now, with the committee terminated, professional organizations feel incapacitated in reaching out to the CDC for advice. Efforts are currently underway by APIC and SHEA to promote grassroots campaigns that advocate for the reinstatement of federal advisory committees.
Steed reflected on the current predicament, stating, ‘We are really in limbo. It is concerning for clinicians and health care organizations to be adrift without the support of a panel like HICPAC, offering insights into frontline clinical practice and advocating necessary improvements based on scientific evidence.’ This disbandment thus leaves the healthcare industry grappling with the uncertainty of the way forward without time-sensitive, evidence-based guidance from a panel like HICPAC, particularly at a time when pathogens and antimicrobial resistance are escalating.