Healthcare Associated Infections
It is estimated that each year in the US 1.7 million patients acquire a healthcare-associated infection (HAI) while hospitalized; 99,000 die due to an HAI; and HAIs add approximately $5 billion to healthcare costs. — CDC
According to the World Health Organization World Alliance for Patient Safety, healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are a major patient safety issue throughout the world. The CDC defines HAIs as infections that patients acquire during the course of receiving treatment for other conditions within a healthcare setting. In the past, these infections were considered a normal consequence of providing increasingly complex care. However, front-page stories in the media about patients being severely injured or losing their lives as a result of HAIs have helped focus attention on minimizing the occurrence of HAIs, and enhancing healthcare performance in general. As part of an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) ACTION project, YNHHS-CHS is working with Dartmouth University to facilitate implementation of TeamSTEPPS™, an evidence-based method of improving teamwork and communication within multidisciplinary healthcare teams.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the nation’s largest purchaser of healthcare services, recently instituted standards directed at preventing hospitals from receiving payment for the additional costs associated with the treatment of 10 preventable conditions acquired during a hospital stay. Three of these are HAIs. In addition, the 2009 Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals include three new requirements specifically regarding HAIs.
The need to focus attention on decreasing and eventually eliminating HAIs will only continue to grow. The Yale New Haven Health System Center for Healthcare Solutions (YNHHS-CHS) can assist you in your efforts to create and sustain a culture of safety while achieving compliance with regulatory standards regarding HAIs by:
- Delivering education and training programs in multiple modalities that address surgical site infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections and multi-drug resistant organisms
- Providing an infection control policy and procedure manual template that meets regulatory standards and addresses your facility’s unique needs
- Linking your organization’s clinical experts in infection control, hospital epidemiology and patient safety with national subject matter experts in these topics
