health
CDC issues guide on infection prevention practices
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted July 25, 2011
Medical care in outpatient facilities has been increasing over the past few years, but too few health professionals follow standard infection prevention practices, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To help educate clinicians about minimum expectations of safe care, the CDC on July 13 released a guide and checklist tailored to health professionals in primary care offices, surgery centers and pain management clinics, among other outpatient settings.
The guide recommends that all outpatient practices ensure that at least one individual with specific training in infection control is on staff or regularly available (link). That person should be involved in developing a written infection control policy and have regular communication with health professionals to address specific issues or concerns.
Additionally, the CDC encourages outpatient facilities to provide infection prevention education and training to all health care personnel and regularly evaluate the staff's adherence to infection prevention policies.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/07/25/hlbf0725.htm.
