Hospital Infection Control & Prevention – October 1, 2007
October 1, 2007
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Bad law = bad medicine: PA plan to test health workers may spur drug resistance
In a move that runs counter to national public health guidelines and may contribute to the rise of drug-resistant pathogens, Pennsylvania has passed a state law that could lead to routinely culturing a wide variety of health care workers for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). -
Anatomy of a compromise: Law meant to be flexible
A controversial health care worker screening provision in a recently enacted Pennsylvania law was intended as compromise language that would appease the governor's office while giving hospitals flexibility in complying, a state legislative official tells Hospital Infection Control. -
New strains of norovirus cause hospital outbreaks
The emergence of two new strains of norovirus has resulted in increased reports of hospital and long-term care outbreaks, some of which appear to involve the first fatal infections with the virus reported in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. -
National surveillance system on tap for norovirus outbreaks
Noting that a national spike in norovirus outbreaks likely represents an underestimate, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is setting up a national surveillance system as the bane of cruise ships moves aggressively into hospitals and long-term care settings. -
CMS changes could spell unintended consequences
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) decision to halt payment on additional costs generated by certain infections could unleash a series of unintended consequences such as increased testing and possible inappropriate treatment for hospital patients on admission, a health care epidemiologist warns. -
Consumers, hospital critics welcome CMS changes
While praiseworthy, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) decision to halt payment on additional costs generated by certain infections should have gone further and included methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a consumer advocacy group argues. -
False pertussis outbreaks cause costly interventions
If you're thinking pertussis is the cause of a respiratory outbreak in your hospital or community, think twice.