Here are 17 key administrative recommendations for the prevention of bloodborne pathogen transmission, outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
1. Incorporate preventing transmission of infectious agents into the objectives of your healthcare organization's patient and occupational safety programs.
2. Make preventing transmission of infectious agents a priority for the healthcare organization. Provide administrative support, including fiscal and human resources for maintaining infection control programs.
3. Ensure the infection control program is managed by one or more qualified individuals.
4. Determine specific and appropriate infection control full-time equivalents.
5. Include prevention of healthcare-associated infections as one determinant of bedside nurse staffing levels and composition, especially in high-risk units.
6. Delegate authority to infection control personnel for making infection control decisions concerning patient placement and assignment of transmission-based precautions.
7. Involve infection control personnel in decisions on facility construction and design, among other environmental needs.
8. Provide the appropriate ventilation systems, according to published recommendations.
9. Involve infection control personnel in the selection and post-implementation evaluation of medical equipment and supplies and changes in practice that could affect the risk of infection.
10. Ensure availability of human and fiscal resources to provide clinical microbiology laboratory support.
11. Provide human and fiscal resources to meet occupational health needs related to infection control.
12. Provide supplies and equipment necessary for the consistent observance of standard precautions, including hand hygiene products and personal protective equipment.
13. Develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that reusable patient care equipment is cleaned and reprocessed appropriately.
14. Develop and implement processes to ensure oversight of infection control activities. In addition, assign responsibility for oversight of infection control activities to an individual or group within the healthcare organization that is knowledgeable about infection control.
15. Develop and implement systems for early detection and management of potentially infectious persons at initial points of patient encounter in outpatient settings and at the time of admission to hospitals and long-term care facilities.
16. Develop and implement policies and procedures to limit patient visitation by individuals with signs or symptoms of a communicable infection. Screen visitors to high-risk patient care areas for possible infection.
17. Identify performance indicators that effectively prevent transmission of infectious agents, establish processes to monitor adherence to those performance measures and provide feedback to staff members.
Source: CDC
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1. Incorporate preventing transmission of infectious agents into the objectives of your healthcare organization's patient and occupational safety programs.
2. Make preventing transmission of infectious agents a priority for the healthcare organization. Provide administrative support, including fiscal and human resources for maintaining infection control programs.
3. Ensure the infection control program is managed by one or more qualified individuals.
4. Determine specific and appropriate infection control full-time equivalents.
5. Include prevention of healthcare-associated infections as one determinant of bedside nurse staffing levels and composition, especially in high-risk units.
6. Delegate authority to infection control personnel for making infection control decisions concerning patient placement and assignment of transmission-based precautions.
7. Involve infection control personnel in decisions on facility construction and design, among other environmental needs.
8. Provide the appropriate ventilation systems, according to published recommendations.
9. Involve infection control personnel in the selection and post-implementation evaluation of medical equipment and supplies and changes in practice that could affect the risk of infection.
10. Ensure availability of human and fiscal resources to provide clinical microbiology laboratory support.
11. Provide human and fiscal resources to meet occupational health needs related to infection control.
12. Provide supplies and equipment necessary for the consistent observance of standard precautions, including hand hygiene products and personal protective equipment.
13. Develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that reusable patient care equipment is cleaned and reprocessed appropriately.
14. Develop and implement processes to ensure oversight of infection control activities. In addition, assign responsibility for oversight of infection control activities to an individual or group within the healthcare organization that is knowledgeable about infection control.
15. Develop and implement systems for early detection and management of potentially infectious persons at initial points of patient encounter in outpatient settings and at the time of admission to hospitals and long-term care facilities.
16. Develop and implement policies and procedures to limit patient visitation by individuals with signs or symptoms of a communicable infection. Screen visitors to high-risk patient care areas for possible infection.
17. Identify performance indicators that effectively prevent transmission of infectious agents, establish processes to monitor adherence to those performance measures and provide feedback to staff members.
Source: CDC
