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The nations leading infection control professional societies have drafted model state legislation for collecting and reporting health care-associated infections that includes the following provisions:
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The aftermath of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Canada is that health care workers are paying unusually close attention to infection control inservicing and education programs, an epidemiologist reports.
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An emerging highly virulent strain of Clostridium difficile is doing more than causing concern in the hospital its spurring research in the lab.
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The availability of new diagnostics for latent tuberculosis infection signals a sea change in the way hospitals conduct annual testing of health care workers, a veteran TB controller emphasizes.
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In a major new emphasis on patient safety, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is warning that failure to keep track of the medications needed by transferred patients is resulting in preventable deaths.
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New guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on immunizing health care workers against seasonal influenza make the following key points and recommendations:
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The nations leading health care epidemiology groups have crafted model state legislation for infection rate disclosure laws to ensure ICPs have a leading voice in the process.
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Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) is most often nosocomially acquired and usually affects older, sicker patients. The incidence of hospital discharges with a diagnosis of CDAD in the United States increased by 26% between 2000 and 2001.
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Mandating seasonal health care worker flu vaccinations an issue so contentious it led to open revolt in the first U.S. hospital that tried it is being considered as a new standard by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).
