{"id":5983,"date":"2013-10-22T02:55:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-22T02:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/a6f61c8390.nxcli.io\/blog\/how-rtls-can-help-prevent-a-rolling-hospital-acquired-infection-epidemic\/"},"modified":"2013-10-22T02:55:00","modified_gmt":"2013-10-22T02:55:00","slug":"how-rtls-can-help-prevent-a-rolling-hospital-acquired-infection-epidemic","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/a6f61c8390.nxcli.io\/en-gb\/blog\/how-rtls-can-help-prevent-a-rolling-hospital-acquired-infection-epidemic\/","title":{"rendered":"How RTLS Can Help Prevent a Rolling Hospital Acquired Infection Epidemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We\u2019ve suggested before in this column that, in the search for a magic bullet for infection control, some things are being overlooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, there are probably more than 5,000 mobile medical devices rolling around in a typical 300 bed hospital every day. These are the IV pumps, telemetry units, even wheel chairs and gurneys that are so commonplace they often don\u2019t get the disinfection they need to protect patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been well established that bacteria such as E.coli, MRSA, VRE and Strep live for months on dry surfaces. Now there is growing evidence of infection transmission via near-patient surfaces and equipment. This has prompted the Center for Disease Control to issue guidelines insuring that high-touch surfaces are thoroughly cleaned as part of regular room cleaning at discharge<\/a>. In addition, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued directives on how hospitals should get ready for on-site inspection of infection control practices (see ASC Infection Control Surveyor Worksheet<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This upends the notion that hand hygiene is the single best answer to containing hospital acquired infection (HAI). Even if hand washing compliance were 100 percent, which it clearly is not, it would be easily defeated because of unsterile medical equipment floating \u2013 or rolling \u2013 around the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that doesn\u2019t take into account the equipment hidden on the units for easy, on-demand access, which is known as hoarding. The problem is that when hospital equipment gets left in a room, it usually doesn\u2019t get cleaned. Even when staff members suspect equipment hasn\u2019t been cleaned, it\u2019s often given a cursory wipe down as a precaution, which can re-contaminate the equipment if it has been adequately cleaned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where a real-time location system (RTLS) comes into play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n