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Key Issues in Infection Prevention: An Overview
Author(s) -
Edmiston Charles E.,
Spencer Maureen
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
aorn journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1878-0369
pISSN - 0001-2092
DOI - 10.1016/j.aorn.2014.10.007
Subject(s) - citation , key (lock) , library science , medicine , computer science , computer security
Although most health careeassociated infections (HAIs) are considered preventable events, they are a clear threat to patient safety. A surgical site infection (SSI) results in significant patient morbidity, even death, and contributes to increased use of health care resources. Therefore, infection prevention is important in today’s environment and the evolution of health care reform in the United States. The effect of health care reform is being felt in all health care environments (eg, no reimbursement for HAIs), forcing health care professionals to rethink their practice, especially in relation to the incidence of HAIs and SSIs. In the perioperative environment, clinicians are all too cognizant of the risks that patients face if an SSI occurs. In addition to potentially devastating patient outcomes, there are also financial implications of HAIs and SSIs. According to Zimlichman et al, “The total annual costs for the [five] major infections were $9.8 billion (95% [confidence interval], $8.3-$11.5 billion), with surgical site infections contributing the most to overall costs (33.7% of the total).” 1(p2039) According to the