Hospital Infection Control & Prevention – December 1, 2008
December 1, 2008
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Pointless visit: CMS inspected Las Vegas HCV outbreak clinic but missed unsafe needle practices
Conducting an inspection in a Las Vegas endoscopy clinic shortly before it became the epicenter of the largest "look-back" patient testing effort in medical history, inspectors for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services saw nothing amiss with needle practices that ultimately led to a nationally publicized hepatitis C outbreak, Hospital Infection Control & Prevention has learned. -
CMS tool for ambulatory care includes syringes, vials
A survey tool to assess infection control in ambulatory care settings was created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for use by inspectors for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. -
APIC forms consulting arm to meet new regs
The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) has announced the launch of APIC Consulting Services Inc. -
CMS sharpens IC regs in ambulatory centers
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that a final rule will appear in the Nov. 18, 2008, Federal Register detailing changes to the agency's outpatient ambulatory surgical center (ASC) payment system. -
APIC finds rampant C. diff, new strain suspected
An unlucky 13 out of every 1,000 inpatients in recently surveyed hospitals were either infected or colonized with Clostridium difficile, a rate that is 6.5 to 20 times higher than previous incidence estimates. -
IPs, patient advocates: Can marriage be saved?
The infection prevention community has lost some measure of credibility in the public and political eye and must embrace the patient advocacy movement to regain a leadership role, said Steve Weber, MD, a health care epidemiologist at the University of Chicago. -
ip Newbe: Infection preventionist: Name unifies diverse field
(Editor's note: In this issue of IP Newbie, we feature a column for new professionals written by Patti Grant, an infection preventionist and editorial advisory board member of this publication. An IP since 1990, Grant was profiled in the debut issue of this supplement. She has a passion for mentoring that will add invaluable "in-the-trenches" insights for new practitioners in the field.) -
Wisdom Teachers: Epi' newbie: Be sure job comes with resources
As a new generation of health care epidemiologists comes into the work force, these physicians may find that hospital administrators have a troubling lack of awareness about the resources required to run an infection prevention program in today's increasingly regulatory environment. -
The Joint Commission Update for Infection Control: 'The numbers don't match': Joint Commission urges more infection-related sentinel event reporting
Citing a dramatic disconnect between the tens of thousands of patients dying annually with health care-associated infections (HAIs) and the paltry number that actually are being reported as sentinel events, The Joint Commission is urging hospitals to file the voluntary reports to help improve patient safety. -
The Joint Commission Update for Infection Control: Joint Commission's Q&A on HAIs as sentinel events
(Editor's note: The following frequently asked questions were posted on The Joint Commission web site regarding the issue of health care-associated infections and sentinel events. They were marked as most recently reviewed in March 2008.) -
The Joint Commission Update for Infection Control: Tips to conduct your annual IP risk assessment
Under standard IC.01.03.01, The Joint Commission requires that the hospital identifies risks for acquiring and transmitting infections.