Infection control in hospitals is a high-priority, high-profile issue that grabs plenty of media attention and public concern. However, the fact is that infection control continues to remain a major health issue at outpatient surgical centers or ambulatory surgical centers. A new review by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed some facts that Arizona medical malpractice attorneys will find very disturbing.
The CDC looked at the handling of blood glucose monitoring equipment, hand hygiene, injection safety, environmental cleaning, and equipment reprocessing at these centers. Out of the 68 outpatient surgical centers that were included in the survey, 46 had at least one lapse in infection control and 12 had lapses in three or more of the five areas in the study.
Some of the common lapses were using single dose medication vials on more than one patient, failure to adhere to best practices for equipment reprocessing and failure to follow best practices for blood glucose monitoring equipment.
These statistics should be of great concern to Arizona medical malpractice attorneys because of one simple fact - more than 75% of all surgical procedures in the US today are performed at these ambulatory surgical centers. Patients prefer these to have minor to moderate procedures that don't require an overnight stay. These surgical centers have been found to decongest hospitals, and offer patients a quick and convenient way to have a procedure done. Unfortunately, like the CDC study shows, the centers suffer from a lack of strict adherence to hygiene control.
The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association has been quick to address any concerns about infection rates at the centers. It has released a statement saying that it continues to address many of the concerns that have been included in the CDC report.
Arizona medical malpractice lawyers believe there is a need to continue pressure on the outpatient surgical center trade group, to enhance these infection control standards.
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