From the August 2014 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


In the study, 32 health care workers wore four pairs of identical-looking scrubs over the course of four months. Half the scrubs were impregnated with a germ-killing compound while the other half were not. Participants washed the scrubs regularly and received hand hygiene educational sessions once a month. Unannounced researchers conducted weekly garment and hand cultures on participants at the start and end of their shift. They obtained samples from the scrub’s abdominal area and cargo pant pocket, two areas of high touch and high bacterial colonization.

What they discovered was that although antimicrobial scrubs had no impact on the degree of MRSA on the subject’s hands, they did reduce the burden of MRSA on their clothing. Head researcher, Dr. Gonzalo Bearman said, “If widespread antimicrobial scrub use were added to existing infection prevention strategies, a further decrease in hospital acquired infections may occur by limiting the cross transmission of pathogens.”


More accountability
Improving sanitation and infection control can seem expensive at a glance, but for a hospital there’s nothing as unaffordable as bad medicine. That cost manifests itself in not just dollars, but in preventable infection and the loss of lives. Investing in better practices improves patient outcomes, shortens the length of stays, lowers mortality rates, and creates significant savings in cost of operations. It starts with staff members taking responsibility for their own hands and extends to a clinic’s air quality. Kirschman believes that even though the government hasn’t implemented regulations on CFU/m3, hospitals should take the initiative to put themselves ahead of the curve and proactively monitor those levels, particularly in the OR.

For its part, the government has found other ways to get involved. Beginning in 2015, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will add incentives for more responsible health care with infection prevention falling within that realm. The act will mandate that the top quartile of HAI rate hospitals be penalized a percentage of their Medicare payment, and will stipulate that HAI rates be made publicly available online. Medicare will also stop reimbursing facilities for preventable infections acquired in the course of treatment. All of these changes indicate big steps in the war on germs, and significant strides towards a safer, more transparent, and more accountable health care system in the U.S.



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August 2014 Magazine

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