Surgical masks provide virtually no protection against inhalation of airborne particles. Influenza involves airborne transmission as well as other forms of transmission.
After years of struggling with the vagaries of the tuberculosis skin test, you might think that hospitals would embrace a new technology. But the blood test has been slow to catch on.
As safe patient handling laws gain ground in state legislatures, reducing injuries is becoming the mandate of a new enforcement power: the state licensing division.
Hospitals take precautions to prevent the spread of infections from patients to health care workers. But what about when the danger is physical -- and the health care worker is at risk of assault?
The first steps to prevent injury at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa in Mason City occur even before an employee begins his or her job.
Injury and illness rates declined overall in 2005, but the rate at hospitals remained almost double that of general industry, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Consider this scenario: Pandemic influenza has emerged in the community, there's no vaccine, and antivirals are in short supply. Your stockpile of N95 respirators needs to last as long as possible, because getting a new shipment may be difficult. What do you do?
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) is emphasizing that knowledge is power when it comes to patients.
Lack of consensus on how to measure hand hygiene compliance has made this a daunting challenge for quality professionals.
Think broadly when it comes to preparedness. Even if H5N1 avian influenza never becomes a wide-spread threat to humans, you still need to plan for a pandemic, public health experts say.
