Healthcare facilities must implement and continuously maintain infection prevention and control measures to reduce healthcare-associated infections and protect patient safety.
Elizabeth Mort, M.D., M.P.H.
Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, The Joint Commission
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 1 in 25 patients treated in hospitals develop an infection associated with the treatment they received. Ambulatory surgery center and nursing home patients are also at risk for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The ability of healthcare organizations to prevent or minimize infections is critical to patient safety, as HAIs cause patient harm, longer hospital stays, and higher medical costs. Thankfully, there are practices and protocols that help reduce the risk of infection when properly implemented.
Staying up-to-date on best practices
The general principles of infection prevention and control are not new, but the guidelines and processes related to them are becoming more and more complex due in part to new pathogens, some of which are resistant to many antibiotics, and the growing complexity of new treatments which can leave patients immunosuppressed and more susceptible to infection.
To support healthcare facilities in keeping up-to-date on necessary infection prevention and control practices, The Joint Commission, an organization that accredits more than 23,000 U.S. healthcare organizations, and enables and affirms the highest standards of healthcare quality and patient safety for all, created a free Infection Prevention and Control & Antibiotic Stewardship Resource Center.
The Resource Center aims to help healthcare organizations develop comprehensive infection prevention and control and antibiotic stewardship programs to:
- Prevent disease spread
- Safeguard vulnerable populations
- Maintain a safe environment
It also offers infection prevention and control professionals — whether novice or expert — access to curated collections of resources with actionable strategies and tools to support their compliance with related Joint Commission accreditation requirements.
Infection prevention and control challenges by setting
Each healthcare setting faces unique infection control and prevention challenges which can be searched and addressed via The Joint Commission’s Resource Center. Facility-specific challenges include:
- Hospitals and urgent care centers need to accommodate surges of infectious patients while maintaining normal operations.
- Nursing care centers and assisted living communities must focus on addressing the needs of vulnerable populations.
- Outpatient settings, including dental and vision facilities, need to mitigate risks of infection by improving cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization practices, and performing surveillance on sources of water used in patient care.
- Home care organizations must manage infection prevention and control differently because their staff members are providing care in patients’ homes, where they have little control over the environment.
The Resource Center also allows users to search for infection prevention and control information by:
- Setting: Find information that is uniquely appropriate for hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, nursing homes, and other facilities.
- Topic: Access best practices and proven results on a myriad of infection prevention and control topics.
- Joint Commission Standard: Locate specific infection control standards and requirements.
- Pathogen and HAI Type: Narrow down by precise microorganisms that cause disease as well as specific illnesses.
- Answers to Frequently Asked Questions: Obtain answers to the most asked questions by peers.
Preventing and controlling infections within any healthcare setting relies on significant actions, such as careful adherence to the incredibly detailed, multistep process of high-level disinfection, as well as smaller tasks, such as undertaking proper hand hygiene or wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) repeatedly and meticulously over the course of a day.
A strong infection prevention and control plan also requires support from healthcare organizations’ leadership and should set expectations that adherence to infection control practices and appropriate use of antibiotics is foundational. The responsibility of infection control and prevention falls on everyone involved in the daily operations of a healthcare facility, from providers and other caregivers to receptionists, kitchen staff, and dock workers. For more information, visit the Infection Prevention and Control & Antibiotic Stewardship Resource Center. Users can sign up for e-Alert notifications when new resources are added.
