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S U R G I C A L
S K I N
A N T I S E P S I S
Consider creating a poster that
charts the evidence about effectiveness for each of the prepping
agents, including those no longer
used at your facility. Hang copies
at all the scrub sinks, in clear
view of surgeons and staff scrubbing in for procedures. Take
every opportunity to communicate with surgeons about their
prepping practices and talk up
the agents you've put in place.
3. Track the progress
Three months after standardizing
prepping products, our infection
FORMULA ONE Stanford's infection control
leaders, surgeons and nurses were able to agree
on single-use CHG/alcohol products as their preferred choice.
control department reported a
slightly lower SSI rate. Keep in mind, though, that numerous practices 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 some part in the reduced infection rates.
Intermittently track your staff and surgeons' behavior to execute a truly successful process improvement program. Conduct infection control compliance
audits for a variety of tasks that ensure frontline practices match what's being
reflected in medical records. To reinforce and normalize prepping behaviors,
add the preferred choice of agent to patients' EMRs or paper records when
cases are scheduled. Doing so alerts staff of the optimal options and ensures
prepping practices remain standardized and effective. Also know that skin prep
manufacturers are actively looking to change products to combat the issue of
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SUPPLEMENT
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | M O N T H 2014
