October 27, 2010
Some of the biggest players in HAI prevention issued a joint white paper in November’s Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. The paper doesn’t put forth a groundbreaking new argument but is a renewed commitment to combating HAIs to save lives and preserve health resources.
Recognizing that HAIs are both costly and preventable, the paper identifies four pathways towards elimination, each dependent on appropriate financial backing: adherence to evidence-based prevention practices, aligning incentives for infection prevention and control, supporting innovation in research, and using data, including surveillance, to improve HAI control.
The second pillar aligning incentives for infection control has been a particular focus of ETC work in the past, as it is widely recognized that there are few financial drivers in place to encourage hospitals to vigorously pursue infection control. ETC research has looked at ways to encourage the implementation of control measures, including through developing public reporting programs, denying hospital reimbursement for HAIs, and motivating prudent antibiotic use. Ramanan Laxminarayan explores these issues in depth in a Weekly Policy Commentary from Resources for the Future.
Read the ICHE white paper on eliminating healthcare-associated infections.
Image credit: Flickr: BertBeckers
Posted from Extending the Cure
