CDC Seeks to Improve Ambulatory Care Safety

The CDC said in its new guidelines that healthcare personnel should always:

• Follow procedures for the safe handling of potentially contaminated medical equipment
• Ensure safe medical injection practices are followed

It also said that outpatient facilities and practices should:

• Develop and maintain infection prevention and occupational health programs
• Ensure that at least one individual with training in infection control is employed by or regularly available to the facility. This person should be responsible for overseeing the facility's infection prevention program
• Develop written infection-prevention policies and procedures appropriate for the services provided by the facility and based upon evidence-based guidelines, regulations, or standards
• Provide job- or task-specific infection prevention education and training to all health care personnel
• Make sure sufficient and appropriate supplies necessary for adherence to standard precautions are available
• Perform regular audits and competency evaluations of staff's adherence to infection prevention practices
• Utilize CDC's infection prevention checklist for outpatient settings to assess infection control practices
• Adhere to local, state, and federal requirements regarding HAI surveillance, reportable diseases, and outbreak reporting