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D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | O U T P AT 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
INFECTION PREVENTION
1. How likely is it to occur in the next 12 months?
0 virtually no chance
1 unlikely
2 medium likelihood
3 very likely
If, for example, you've observed that hand hygiene compliance is
poor — say, 50% — it's very likely to continue to be poor, unless
there's an intervention. Meanwhile, if you have a high-volume, high-
pressure facility, there's probably at least a medium likelihood of a
sharps injury occurring in the next 12 months.
2. What is the degree of potential harm if it occurs?
0 little or no harm
1 temporary harm
2 permanent harm
3 life-threatening harm
The degree of potential harm resulting from less-than-optimal hand
hygiene might be a judgment call, depending in part on how poor
compliance is and what kinds of procedures you're doing. A sharps
injury could conceivably be life-threatening, but that's unlikely.
Temporary harm is the most likely scenario, but permanent harm cer-
tainly isn't out of the question.
3. What is your current level of preparedness and/or to what degree do you
need to make changes in care, treatment or services to address the risk?
0 well prepared/no changes needed
1 mostly prepared/few changes needed
2 somewhat prepared/some changes needed
3 poorly prepared/major changes needed
