Hospitals in California will now be required to report surgical-site infection rates associated with 26 procedures after a San Francisco judge upheld reporting requirements outlined by the state's public health department in April.

Under the requirements, hospitals must submit infection reports to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Healthcare Safety Network, a secure online surveillance system for tracking infections. The list of operative procedures, which includes appendix surgery, kidney transplant and thoracic surgery, was sent to hospitals in an April 27 letter from the California Department of Public Health.

State officials contend that the list of specific procedures was in keeping with a 2008 law that required hospitals to report infection rates associated with cardiac, gastrointestinal and orthopedic surgeries, as well as operations within an organ or deep inside the body. The law requires the state to begin making such infection data available to the public beginning in January 2012.

But the California Hospital Association filed a lawsuit in May, arguing the new, more detailed requirements were outside of the parameters of the 2008 law and would be burdensome for hospitals.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Peter Busch denied the association's request for an injunction. He also ruled that three of the surgeries on the department's list—spinal fusion, cesarean section and pacemaker surgery—may not be included for reporting, pending further review. Finally, he blocked an additional requirement that would have required hospitals to submit infection data monthly instead of quarterly.