ICP consortium tackles MD infection control
Employee status matters little to microbes
A much-discussed gray area in infection control and employee health circles has been compliance by physicians, who may not technically be employees of the hospital. The California Children’s Hospital Association Infection Control Consortium a network of ICPs at seven hospitals in that state tackled the physician health issue in an initial consensus policy.
"The microorganisms don’t know the difference between the DNA of a health care worker employed by the hospital or the DNA of a physician who is not employed by the hospital," says Gregg Pullen, MT(ASCP)M, RM(AAM), infection control manager at Valley Children’s Hospital in Fresno. "To have health programs in hospitals that exclude physicians doesn’t make any sense at all."
To address the issue, the consortium adopted a consensus policy that is summarized as follows:
All physicians, including those physicians with admitting privileges; consulting physicians; and physicians in training (e.g., "house staff," residents, etc.) shall comply with the physician health requirements below, which are a requirement of the credentialing process. All record keeping and monitoring shall be the responsibility of the medical staff services department. With respect to physicians in training, compliance may be met by requiring the training institution to comply with these requirements.
• Immunity and Immunization: All physicians shall have proof of immunity to measles, rubella, and chickenpox. Immunizations for measles, rubella, and chickenpox shall be provided (when indicated) by the employee health services department at no cost to the physician, and shall be given according to current U.S. Public Health Services guidelines. Hepatitis B virus immunization should be encouraged, and may be offered free or at cost to physicians.
• Purified protein derivative (PPD): All physicians shall have an initial PPD performed at the time of their appointment, and annually (or more often if indicated) thereafter. PPD testing shall be performed by the Employee Health Services Department, or physicians may provide documentation of independent PPD test results. Physicians with positive PPD test results shall be evaluated for active tuberculosis using current U.S. Public Health Services guidelines.
• Annual Education: All physicians shall receive annual education on bloodborne path ogens precautions, TB precautions, and hospital infection control procedures. This education may be in the form of inservice education given by the infection control staff, or by written educational materials given to physicians.
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