HAI-Healthcare

Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI’s)

What You Need to Know

According to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 1 out of every 20 patients get an HAI daily and the CDC estimates that translates into 1.7 million patients annually with nearly 100,000 deaths

Many healthcare-associated infections are preventable however achieving a sustained zero rate of infection is probably not attainable for most facilities

A majority of states now require some degree of public infection reporting and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have stopped reimbursement for a growing number of adverse events including some HAIs

Increasing legal claims for HAIs and associated professional liability costs have resulted in a reexamination of the burden of proof for an HAI occurrence with some even arguing there should be strict liability imposed on the healthcare facility

Ambulatory surgery centers and other outpatient facilities have experienced the majority of infection outbreaks with lapses in basic infection control and standard precautions cited as causes

What You Need to Do

Identification-identify product and/or practice flaws and lack of standardization across a healthcare delivery network

Improvement-utilize safer products and/or implement safer practice uniformly across an organization

Sustainability-keep your message short, simple, affordable, and holistic, offering rewards, sanctions, constant reminders, etc. to embed improvements into the healthcare culture

Innovation-align goals with regulatory agencies and align enhancements with insurance carriers along with a continuous review of product/practice innovations/improvements which will reduce costs and improve quality

Myths and Misconceptions

One of the major drivers propelling the knowledge of infection prevention was the Keystone Study which validated the preventability of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs)-TRUE

New and more dangerous pathogens continue to evolve due in part to the over and inappropriate use of antibiotics- TRUE

Opposition to infection rate reporting is based upon continued fear of liability, validation and logistical issues, and diverting resources away from patient care- TRUE

Reporting requirements may in fact result in distortion of an organizations infection rates and capabilities if validation is not utilized and all facilities are not equally compared for all factors-TRUE

Many ambulatory care facilities are rarely inspected and need little more than a business license operate- TRUE