Infection Prevention Challenges

Infection prevention is a constantly changing field of practice as new regulations and best practices are generated and debated. You must stay ahead of the curve to achieve the best results for your patients and facility.

7 Struggles Faced by Infection Preventionists

1. Reporting Mandates

The National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), state governments and national accrediting bodies continue to adopt new standards for surveillance and reporting of infections.

2. Limited Time

You have a limited amount of time to dedicate each day to your required tasks and too many demands. Constant interruptions add to your time constraints.

3. Solo Practitioner

The Infection Preventionist is often the only employee in the department, is responsible for the entire hospital, and wears multiple hats.

4. Too Much Data

Isolation status changes often. Static reports evaluated once a day leaves the potential for error and missed intervention opportunities.

5. Administrative Demands

Pressure abounds to reduce costs from healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and decrease patients’ length of stay.

6. Decrease in Profitability

As of October 2009, the U.S. Government and some third-party payers have deemed certain infections as non-reimbursable events.

7. People Are Dying

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates 1.7 million HAIs occur each year in hospitals, leading to about 100,000 deaths, many of which are preventable.