CDC Publishes New Healthcare-Associated Infection Progress Report

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published its 2016 Healthcare-Associated Infection Progress Report. The report provides year-to-year progress on the prevention of key healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in acute care hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals and inpatient rehabilitation facilities.

The HAI Progress Report consists of national and state-by-state summaries of HAIs across the settings. The 2016 HAI Progress Report is the first report to measure year-to-year HAI prevention progress using the 2015 baseline (reference point). 

While progress was seen in some areas, improvements are greatly needed in others. Here are some national highlights from the 2016 HAI Progress Report:

Acute Care Hospitals

  • About 11% decrease in central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) 

  • About 7% decrease in catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) 

  • About 13% decrease in abdominal hysterectomy surgical site infections (SSIs) 

  • About 7% decrease in colon surgery SSIs 

  • About 7% decrease in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia 

  • About 8% decrease in Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infections

Long-Term Acute Care Hospitals

  • About 4% decrease in CLABSIs

  • About 15% decrease in C. difficile infections

  • About 5% increase in ventilator-associated events (VAEs) 

Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities

  • About 7% increase in CAUTIs

  • About 17% increase in MRSA bacteremia

  • About 4% decrease in C. difficile infections

Working toward the elimination of HAIs is a CDC priority, and should be a priority of all healthcare organizations. Data indicates that on any given day, about 1 in 25 hospital patients has at least one HAI. They lead to the loss of tens of thousands of lives and cost the U.S. health care system billions of dollars annually.

If your organization needs assistance with developing, implementing and maintaining evidence-based infection prevention and control programs, contact Infection Control Consulting Services (ICCS), a nationally renowned consulting firm offering expert services to healthcare facilities and organizations.

Patient Infection Risks Prominent on ECRI Annual List of Health Tech Hazards

ECRI Institute has included three potential sources of patient infections on its "2019 Top 10 Health Technology Hazards" list.

They are as follows:

  • #2: Mattresses Remaining Contaminated After Cleaning. ECRI notes, "Blood and other body fluids that remain on, or within, mattresses or mattress covers after cleaning can contact subsequent patients, posing an infection risk."

  • #3: Retained Surgical Sponges. ECRI notes, "Surgical sponges that are unintentionally left inside the patient after the surgical site is closed can lead to infection and other serious complications, including the need for secondary operations."

  • #5: Recontamination of Endoscopes After Disinfection. ECRI notes, "Failure to precisely follow a robust reprocessing protocol can lead to debilitating or even fatal infections. Less well known is that improper handling and storage practices can recontaminate previously disinfected scopes, heightening the risk of patient infections."

Rounding out the top 5 were "Hackers Exploiting Remote Access Vulnerabilities" (#1) and "Improperly Set Ventilator Alarms" (#4).

To select topics for its 2019 list, ECRI stated it accepted nominations from ECRI engineers, scientists, clinicians and other patient safety analysts and also considered health-technology-related problem reports received through its Problem Reporting Network and through data that participating facilities share with its patient safety organization. ECRI hopes its lists can serve as a "starting point for discussions, helping healthcare organizations plan and prioritize their patient safety efforts," according to news release.

Infection risks also took top spots in ECRI's 2018 health technology hazards list, with endoscope reprocessing at #2, mattress and mattress cover contamination at #3 and improper cleaning and device failures at #5.

In a recent column for Becker's Clinical Leadership & Infection Control, Infection Control Consulting Services (ICCS) Founder and President Phenelle Segal, RN, CIC, FAPIC, shared common infection prevention and control deficiency findings in healthcare facilities. It's not surprising to see how deficiencies identified in this article can contribute to patient infection risks highlighted in ECRI's report.

The 2019 Top 10 Health Technology Hazards executive brief is available for complimentary download at www.ecri.org/2​019hazards.

September 2018 Issue of Infection Prevention & Control Newsletter Published

The September 2018 issue of the ICCS Infection Prevention & Control Newsletter has published.

The issue identifies some of the most pertinent infection prevention and control news from September. Topics covered in this issue include common deficiencies, challenging Joint Commission standards, surgical site infections, high-touch surfaces, sepsis, privacy curtains, jet air dryers and antibiotic resistance.

Access the issue by clicking here.

Receive the free ICCS Newsletter by signing up here.

Phenelle Segal Writes Column on Infection Prevention and Control Deficiencies

Phenelle Segal, RN, CIC, FAPIC, Founder and President of Infection Control Consulting Services (ICCS), has contributed a column to Becker's Clinical Leadership & Infection Control discussing infection prevention and infection control deficiencies.

The story focuses on 10 of the most common deficiencies cited by Medicare and/or accreditation surveys across the continuum of care as observed by ICCS consultants from January 2018 through August 2018.

Access the column on deficiency findings.

Infection Control Standards Challenging Most Joint Commission-Accredited Organizations

Infection Control Standards Challenging Most Joint Commission-Accredited Organizations

The Joint Commission has issued its report on the top five most challenging requirements for the first half of 2018, and an infection control standard holds a spot on the list of many Joint Commission programs.

Here is a breakdown of those programs which had at least one infection control standard on its top five list, the standards which made the lists and their places on the top five, and the non-compliance rate for each standard.

Ambulatory Care Accreditation

  • IC.02.02.01 (The organization reduces the risk of infections associated with medical equipment, devices, and supplies.) came in second, with a 62% non-compliance rate.

  • IC.02.01.01 (The organization implements infection prevention and control activities.) came in fourth, with a 43% non-compliance rate.

Critical Access Hospital Accreditation

  • IC.02.02.01 (The critical access hospital reduces the risk of infections associated with medical equipment, devices, and supplies.) came in third, with a 69% non-compliance rate.

Home Care Accreditation

  • IC.02.01.01 (The organization implements the infection prevention and control activities it has planned.) came in second, with a 40% non-compliance rate.

Hospital Accreditation

  • IC.02.02.01 (The hospital reduces the risk of infections associated with medical equipment, devices, and supplies.) came in third, with a 74% non-compliance rate.

Nursing Care Center Accreditation

  • IC.02.01.01 (The organization implements its infection prevention and control plan.) came in second, with a 39% non-compliance rate.

  • IC.02.02.01 (The organization reduces the risk of infections associated with medical equipment, devices, and supplies.) came in fifth, with a 31% non-compliance rate.

Office-Based Surgery Practice Accreditation

  • IC.02.02.01 (The practice reduces the risk of infections associated with medical equipment, devices, and supplies.) came in first, with a 79% non-compliance rate. Note: This standard was far and away the most challenging; the second most challenging standard had a 43% non-compliance rate.

  • IC.02.01.01 (The practice implements infection prevention and control activities.) came in third, with a 38% non-compliance rate.

Analysis of Non-Compliance With Infection Control Requirements

Infection control and prevention standards continue to present significant challenges to healthcare organizations, despite increased focus on these areas. Such standards have come under greater scrutiny from regulatory bodies and accreditation organizations in recent years. With organizations struggling to comply with requirements, there is no reason to believe this scrutiny will subside any time soon. Organizations must allocate appropriate resources to develop comprehensive infection control plans that meet standards and ultimately keep patients safe.