-
The following questions were among those asked during two recent surveys by the Joint Commission. The questions do not represent any kind of official survey, but were simply noted anecdotally by two infection control professionals as the questions were asked to them and other staff members.
-
Be proactive and get ready for an onslaught of questions from critical inquiries to the out-of-the-blue variety if youre preparing for a visit from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, advise two infection control professionals who recently went through the process.
-
A recent article by investigators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reiterated the following basic infection control measures to prevent patient-to-patient transmission of bloodborne pathogens in ambulatory care settings.
-
Emerging data in elderly patients indicate that a stealth epidemic of hepatitis C and hepatitis B virus may be going undetected in ambulatory care settings, Hospital Infection Control has learned. If the data are verified, the infectious risk extends to all patients in ambulatory care, as elderly patients are essentially a surrogate marker for health care transmission due to their lack of other risk factors.
-
-
EDs are not adhering to recommended guidelines when caring for patients with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), according to this study from Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT.
-
Is your ED practicing according to current guidelines for trauma patients? Do you need images for use during trauma inservices? The www.trauma.org web site has become an invaluable resource for many emergency nurses.
-
Its more important than a comfortable waiting room with VCRs and fish tanks, or even an attentive triage nurse. In fact, its often the single most important factor impacting patient satisfaction: door-to-doctor times.
-
How many times have you carefully assessed a stroke patient in your ED to determine time of symptom onset, only to find out that this individual is not eligible to receive thrombolytics? New treatment options on the horizon will give you other potentially lifesaving interventions for these patients.
-
Are potential violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act high on your worry list? Heres another high-risk area that you should add to your list: Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) citations for violations of the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (BPS). This standard requires you to take steps to protect health care workers from needle stick injuries.
