1 4 8
O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | M A R C H 2 0 1 5
on board and also
make sure you regu-
larly update staff
members so that
they understand the
program.
Determine the
criteria you'll
need put in place to
limit your cases to patients with low risk of postoperative complica-
tions. For us, that meant patients with ASA classifications of 1 or 2,
age 5 or older, non-smokers preferred, and with no communicable dis-
eases or active infections not related to surgical procedures (measles,
tuberculosis and chicken pox, for example). We refer patients who
don't meet those criteria to a nearby inpatient facility where our sur-
geons also practice.
Determine which perioperative best practices you'll implement
regarding: hair removal, nasal decolonization, maintaining peri-
operative normothermia, pre-operative skin prep, and timing and
selection of antibiotic prophylaxis, based on communicable disease
history.
Monitor employees and your environment. Audit hand hygiene
compliance. Determine whether staff are following dress code
requirements. Do they sometimes have masks hanging around their
necks? That's something we've had problems with off and on. Are they
changing masks between cases and fully tying them? Some people may
4
5
6
I N F E C T I O N P R E V E N T I O N
z HANDS DOWN Our infection rates in hand cases,
historically a major problem, have declined significantly.
