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It is important to investigate the reasons for nonadherence to hand hygiene guidelines before deciding on one or more improvement strategies, according to a new report by The Joint Commission and its partners. It also is useful to examine the organizational context of health care delivery, which may facilitate or inhibit adherence. Such organizational factors include:
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Warning that continuing transmission and more severe disease are likely, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued infection control guidelines for hospitals admitting patients with an emerging swine flu strain.
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Recent outbreaks of hepatitis C are a wake-up call to boost infection control practices, particularly in outpatient settings. But they also underscore the prevalence of HCV and the continued occupational risk to health care workers.
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New guidelines promote the use of ultraviolet light in hospitals as an effective way to reduce the risk of tuberculosis transmission from the undiagnosed case.
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Workers' compensation claims were painfully high when Bonnie Johnson took over as director of employee health at Citrus Valley Health Partners in West Covina, CA, a system of three acute-care hospitals, a hospice facility, and about 3,200 employees that is 25 miles east of Los Angeles.
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How protective is the respirator that you provide your employees?
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The Joint Commission has issued a major new document on the difficult issue of assessing hand hygiene compliance by health care workers. We'll put the bottom line at the top: there are many approaches to solve the Achilles "hand" of infection prevention and none of them is a panacea.
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As the use of chemotherapeutic agents and hazardous drugs becomes more commonplace, hospitals are placing a new focus on identifying potential reproductive hazards.
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A manufacturer of needle removal and disposal devices is seeking to expand the company's marketing niche by appealing to hospitals that are seeking to cut costs.
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The air is clearing in the nation's operating rooms, as The Joint Commission places a greater emphasis on evacuating smoke from electrocautery procedures.
