The infection control compliance rate during patient transfers increased nearly 95 percent with the implementation of communication tools, according to a study in BMC Infectious Diseases.
Researchers examined the effect of improved communication on compliance with infection control precautions during transitions of care. The researchers implemented two interventions for inpatient transfers between wards and radiology at a teaching hospital in Australia. One intervention was a pre-transfer checklist used by radiology porters to confirm a patient's infectious status, and the second was a colored cue to highlight written infectious status information in the transfer form.
In a period of four months, transfers using the colored cue had a compliance rate of 73 percent and transfers with the pre-transfer checklist had a compliance rate of 71 percent, while the control group had a 38 percent compliance rate. When both interventions were used, the compliance rate reached 74 percent — a 94.7 increase over the control group's rate. However, while the colored cue was accepted, adherence to the checklist was at 40 percent.
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Researchers examined the effect of improved communication on compliance with infection control precautions during transitions of care. The researchers implemented two interventions for inpatient transfers between wards and radiology at a teaching hospital in Australia. One intervention was a pre-transfer checklist used by radiology porters to confirm a patient's infectious status, and the second was a colored cue to highlight written infectious status information in the transfer form.
In a period of four months, transfers using the colored cue had a compliance rate of 73 percent and transfers with the pre-transfer checklist had a compliance rate of 71 percent, while the control group had a 38 percent compliance rate. When both interventions were used, the compliance rate reached 74 percent — a 94.7 increase over the control group's rate. However, while the colored cue was accepted, adherence to the checklist was at 40 percent.
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