Medical Staff

Hospitals could improve on hygiene

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, December 6, 2006

Infections acquired in hospitals are often the result of poor hygiene among practitioners, rather than from patients' level of acuity when they were admitted, according to a November 21 article in The Washington Post.

The article references three new studies published in the November/December issue of the American Journal of Medical Quality that assert hospitals nationwide should take more extensive measures to prevent the increasing rates of infections among inpatients.

Many hospital-acquired infections are preventable but cost the healthcare system billions of dollars to treat and are responsible for thousands of deaths annually, according to the article.

David B. Nash, chair of the health policy department at Philadelphia's Thomas Jefferson University, recommends in the article that practitioners should wash their hands regularly, don gowns and other infection-preventing clothing during procedures, isolate patients when necessary, and use antibiotics more selectively.

To access the complete article, click here.

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