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One of the big topics addressed by the survey was system integration , where participants were questioned about their views of the value of continuing IP & C programs as a separate unit within the hospital , or proposing for an increase in organizational system integration of IP & C . As one expert noted , “ Infection prevention must be perceived as a system rather than a specific program .”
As Sax , et al . ( 2024 ) observe , “ By 2030 , IP & C leaders will play an integrative role in patient safety by connecting the current players . One participant foresaw IP & C leaders proactively breaking traditional silos and occupying influential roles as advocates for safer healthcare . However , in a pessimistic outlook , IP & C teams will be absorbed by antibiotic stewardship or quality management programs , which could be associated with an undesirable loss of IP & C-specific know-how .”
An integrated approach has been proffered by Weber , et al . ( 2023 ), who explain , “ As infection prevention has grown both more complex but also more sophisticated , infection prevention programs have two options as they adapt
Overall , the global IP & C experts foresaw “ a positive future with
IP & C being more integrated into the healthcare systems , reaching beyond the inpatient sector and acute care , making better use of tools for behavioral change and diffusion of knowledge , and benefitting from further scientific discovery while leveraging technology to automate data collection and analysis for both infection surveillance and behavior monitoring .”
to this new reality [ of new technological tools to aid in HAI prevention such as electronic medical records , machine learning , etc .]. First , their staff can continue to be composed of hospital epidemiologists and infection preventionists with the infection prevention department reaching out to other hospital departments for expertise in quality improvement , informatics , advanced epidemiological and statistical methods , advanced microbiological methods , and compliance monitoring and coaching . Second , they can accept the new paradigm of evolving into a truly integrated department .”
The authors of this paper recount their experience at the University of North Carolina Medical Center , where the advantages of an integrated department include the ability to approach all infection prevention and control activities ( such as outbreaks , HAI reduction , emerging diseases and pandemics ) using a multi-disciplinary approach . They add that integration provides rapid access to required expertise as well as an ability to ensure needed expertise for long-term improvement projects . They also saw improved cross pollination of infection prevention knowledge with other disciplines , improving ability to reduce HAIs and taking the lead in planning for future pandemics . They added that staff with training in non-clinical medicine ( such as quality improvement , informatics , and
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Check out the Clean Solutions series of self-paced , online-based lessons , taught by laundry and infection prevention experts !
Gregory Gicewicz Melissa Travis
Glean invaluable insights from Gregory Gicewicz and Melissa Travis as they walk participants through best practices for ensuring a stellar laundry department .