Accreditation

Wall Street Journal reports on most effective ways to reduce HAIs

Accreditation Connection, November 2, 2009

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Nearly two million patients a year will be hospitalized by an infection, resulting in nearly 100,000 deaths, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). These infections are not inevitable, so with the help of doctors, nurses, administrators, the nonprofit Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths, and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, WSJ came up with two lists of new technologies and old techniques hospitals may want to implement to stop infections.

The first list focuses on ways hospitals can use these new technologies to help double-check the cleanliness of a room, data mining, and the use of anti bacterial soap. One technology WSJ suggests is using fluorescent markers to spray all over patient rooms. A black light then reveals areas that were not cleaned thoroughly.

The second list highlights basic techniques to which hospitals should still pay attention. Hand hygiene remains number one on the list—hospitals that have placed dispensers of alcohol-based sanitizer around their facilities have seen dramatic increases in compliance, reports the WSJ. Hospitals are also creating "can't miss kits" that are filled with all the equipment needed for proper hygiene compliance for common procedures.

To read more on the story and see other techniques on the list, click here.



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