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Outpatient clinic staff skip hand hygiene 37% of the time
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Recent findings published in the American Journal of Infection Control showed that physicians, nurses and medical staff skipped practicing hand hygiene 37% of the time in outpatient clinics in New Mexico. In addition, they failed to follow safe injection practices almost 34% of the time.
“This project raised awareness of expectations for safe care in outpatient settings among medical students and community health care providers,” Deborah Thompson, MD, MSPH, at the New Mexico Department of Health, told Infectious Disease News. “The project also provides a meaningful assessment of infection prevention policies and practices that could be used by the clinics themselves for quality improvement and used to target areas for public health interventions.”
Deborah Thompson
Despite an increasing number of patients being seen in outpatient settings, there has not been a similar increase in resources directed toward outpatient infection prevention, Thompson and colleagues wrote. Because outpatient clinics are not typically regulated like hospitals, little is known about the current status of infection prevention at these clinics.
To determine the infection prevention status in outpatient environments, the researchers performed a cross-sectional study to assess infection prevention policies and practices at 15 outpatient clinics in New Mexico. Staff interviews were conducted to complete a standardized infection prevention checklist, and medical students were tasked with observing injection safety practices and hand hygiene behavior.
Results suggested that an average of 92.8% of recommended infection prevention policies and practices were in place at these settings. During the 163 observed injection preparations and administrations, 66.3% (95% CI, 58.4-73.5) of injections were prepared in compliance with all safety recommendations. Results also indicated that medication vial rubber septums were disinfected with alcohol 78.4% (95% CI, 71.1-84.7) of the time before piercings. During 330 hygiene observations, 37% (95% CI, 31.8%-42.4%) of the time staff did not practice hand hygiene at all, despite supplies being available at all times.
“I think that outpatient health care providers should take action utilizing the CDC and One and Only Campaign infection prevention resources to ensure their practices are meeting the minimum expectations for safe care,” Thompson said. “This should be done both through review of policies and procedures, as well as by direct observation of hand hygiene and safe injection practices.” – by Will Offit
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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