DPH's Bureau of Healthcare Quality is responsible for licensing various healthcare facilities, activities, and professionals in South Carolina and for enforcing compliance with the applicable state regulations and statutes relating to these healthcare facilities, activities, and professionals to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people of South Carolina. In addition, we investigate complaints and serious incidents.

Licensing Inspections

Here are key facts about DPH's Healthcare Quality inspections:

DPH established the Hospital Infections Disclosure Act (HIDA) Advisory Committee as required by the HIDA legislation. The Committee is a multi-disciplinary group with set voting member organizations; representatives of consumers and the general public are also key participants. The member organizations nominate a representative and set their own guidelines for representative rotation schedules. After nomination from their organization, these voting representatives are approved by DPH.

South Carolina State and Regional Antibiograms

These antibiograms were created to monitor resistance across the State of South Carolina. We hope that individual institutions that may not have access to facility-level antibiograms may utilize these to improve empiric antimicrobial prescribing across the state.

This is an ongoing project; ASC-SC will continue to collect antibiograms each year to create a yearly statewide antibiogram.

South Carolina Hospitals Mandated to Report Healthcare-Associated Infections

In 2006, state lawmakers passed the Hospital Infections Disclosure Act (HIDA). This law requires hospitals licensed by the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH), formerly DHEC, to report certain healthcare-associated infection (HAI) events to DPH and the public. 

Hospitals are required to report certain types of infections that patients developed while being treated in the hospital.

Updated: Dec. 11, 2025

General Infection Prevention Resources by Organization

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Infection Control:

Antibiotic Stewardship (ASC-SC)

The Antimicrobial Stewardship Collaborative of South Carolina, or ASC-SC, is a partnership between the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy, and DPH. This partnership works towards improving appropriate antimicrobial prescribing in any healthcare setting in the state. The term antimicrobial prescribing is the practice of giving patients medication, such as antibiotics, to kill bacteria or other germs that can cause disease.

South Carolina Code of Laws
(Unannotated)
Current through the end of the 2010 Session

Title 44 - Health

CHAPTER 7.

HOSPITALS, TUBERCULOSIS CAMPS AND HEALTH SERVICES DISTRICTS

ARTICLE 20
HOSPITAL INFECTIONS DISCLOSURE

SECTION 44-7-2410. Citation of article.

This article may be cited as the "Hospital Infections Disclosure Act".

SECTION 44-7-2420. Definitions.

As used in this article: