Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.
Issue link: http://outpatientsurgery.uberflip.com/i/124399
S U R G I C A L S K I N S U R F A C E A N T I S E P S I S longer used at your facility. Hang copies at EMRs or paper records when cases are all the scrub sinks, in clear view of sur- scheduled. Doing so alerts staff of the geons and staff scrubbing in for proce- optimal options and ensures prepping dures. Take every opportunity to commu- practices remain standardized and effec- nicate with surgeons about their prepping tive. Also know that skin prep manufac- practices and talk up the agents you've put turers are actively looking to change prod- in place. D I S I N F E C T I O N ucts to combat the issue of resistant organisms, so consistently review com- 3. Track the progress mercially available preps to ensure your Three months after standardizing prepping SSI-reduction efforts remain current. OSM products, our infection control department reported a slightly lower SSI rate. Keep in mind, though, that numerous practices Ms. Butler (sb utler@stanfordmed.org) is a clinical nurse IV and the chairperson of the perioperative research council at Stanford University Hospital and Clinics in Stanford, Calif. affect SSIs, and we can't necessarily attribute the drop solely to changes in prepping agents. But there's no doubt that surgical skin asepsis is an important part of effective SSI-reduction measures and played WIPE OUT Do your staffers remember to disinfect the surfaces that are used so often they're overlooked? some part in the reduced infection rates. Intermittently track your staff and surgeons' behavior to execute a truly suc- Are Your Rooms Really Clean? cessful process improvement program. Validate staff's surface disinfection efforts to find out. Amy Waugh | Morgantown, W.Va. Conduct infection control compliance audits for a variety of tasks that ensure frontline practice match what's being reflected in medical records. To reinforce and normalize prepping behaviors, add the preferred choice of agent to patients' 2 1 SUPPLEMENT TO O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E | M AY 2013 D ready to go, right? But you have no way of o you enter a room that's been knowing how effectively microbes have turned over after a patient's dis- been eliminated. Auditing how well your charge or a case's conclusion and rooms are actually getting cleaned would determine if it's clean or dirty by sight? If offer peace of mind that they're safe for you don't see debris or fluid, the room is M AY 2013 | S U P P L E M E N T patients and surgery, validate environmenTO O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E 2 2