Infection control is a serious topic in any healthcare setting. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at any given time one out of every 25 patients has a healthcare-associated infection (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). These infections, for the most part, are completely preventable. They have a devastating impact on the healthcare system and on the quality of patient care. Using evidence-based practice to control infection has many practice benefits.
The purpose of hand hygiene in healthcare workers is to reduce the microbial load on the worker’s hands and reducing the risk of spreading infections from one patient to another. This is an area that has received considerable academic attention. It has been found that proper hand hygiene reduces infection events (Pokrywka, Buraczewski, Frank, Dixon, Ferreli, and Shutt, et al., 2017). Evidence also suggests that wearing long sleeves by nonscrubbed personnel in the operating room decreased the large-particle and microbial shedding, which decreased the chances of patient infection (Market, Gormley, Greeley, Ostojic, and Wagner, 2018). These simple practices are the foundation of infection control in the healthcare setting, yet studies have indicated that they are not always followed. It is the responsibility of all staff who have contact with patients to monitor their peers when it comes to patient hygiene. Failure to report hand hygiene failures was found to be affected by the social culture and hierarchy of the medical facility (Schwappach, in press).
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"Infection Control in Healthcare".
Research reveals that simple practices such as handwashing, wearing long sleeves, and other practice regarding hygiene can significantly reduce hospital borne infections. This improves patient outcomes and has a positive impact on the quality of care. Many hospital borne infections can be prevented through actions on the part of the healthcare provider and the patient. There are many benefits in utilizing evidence-based practice for infection control.
Using evidence-based practice regarding infection control leads to the highest quality care and better patient outcomes due to a reduced risk of serious complications and faster recovery. They reduce health care costs by shortening treatment times and decreasing the number of interventions needed. Standard training and practices regarding hand washing and infection control will help to reduce the geographic variation in the delivery of health care services. Everyone will be providing the same level of care in this regard.
Using evidence-based practices for infection control provides a greater sense of provider empowerment and role satisfaction because they know that they are doing everything possible to provide the best care for their patients. The social and organizational cultural implications of reporting hygiene offenders create tension in the workplace, which can lead to potentially high provider turnover rates.
The reputation of the facility in terms of infection control and quality control issues has an impact on the scrutiny they receive from third party payers. Proper infection control practices increase the potential for reimbursement from third party payers through allowing the facility to become a recommended provider. A lower complication rate also reduces payment denials from third party payers, who may scrutinize the facility less before making payment. Proper infection control procedures reduce the complication rate and support the reputation of the health care provider.
The public has many means to stay informed about the potential for hospital born infection. They expect to be able to trust the provider to take every step possible to protect them while they are in their care. They do not expect to contract a preventable, and potentially life-threatening disease, through a failure to follow infection control procedures. Using evidence-based practices to control infection has an impact that goes beyond the individual patient and has an effect on the entire organization and its future.
