Hand SanitizerĪBHRs have elevated activity against a broad spectrum of pathogens, and compared to soap and water, the use of ABHR can increase compliance with recommended hand hygiene practices by requiring less time, facilitating hand hygiene at the patient bedside and less irritation of the hands.1 Skin irritation or damaged skin in healthcare settings has been known to be identified as loosely-packed skin cells that are void of lipids, commonly caused by the overuse of traditional handwashing. Based on the recommendations of the CDC and WHO, alcohol-based hand rubs should be utilized as the primary method of hand hygiene. Like other healthcare settings, those who work in outpatient environments have access to two forms of hand hygiene: alcohol-based hand rubs (ABHR) and soap and water. #1: Improve Hand HygieneĪccording to the World Health Organization (WHO), hands are the main pathways of germ transmission during healthcare therefore, “hand hygiene is the most important measure to avoid the transmission of harmful germs and prevent health care-associated infections.”2 Today, we’re going to cover all five of these standard precautions: hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, injection safety, environmental cleaning and respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette. In the document, the CDC outlines multiple standard precautions that apply to all patient care, regardless of suspected or confirmed infection status of the patient, in any setting where healthcare is delivered. To ensure that outpatient facilities have efficient guidelines to build infection control plans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published the Guide to Infection Prevention for Outpatient Settings: Minimum Expectations for Safe Care with the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee. These patients deserve an emphasis on the reduction of infection risk from their healthcare professionals in outpatient settings just as much as they do from an acute setting. In fact, more than three-quarters of all operations in the United States are performed in settings outside of a hospital.1 In addition, vulnerable patient populations like cancer patients rely on frequent outpatient care to maintain or improve their health. Outpatient facilities are frequented by millions of patients every year for a number of reasons. However, outpatient settings pose just as significant of a risk. In healthcare, acute care facilities receive a lot of attention for their risk of spreading healthcare-associated infections.
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