Most likely, your practice has standard operating procedures to ensure consistency and quality of care. In fact, an article in Modern Healthcare cited that 30% of inefficiencies in our healthcare system today are driven by a lack of standardization and a lack of care coordination.¹

In the pursuit of creating “best practices” in your facility, one such area to consider is how procedure kits can help improve adherence. Two important advantages of doing so are:

• Minimizing process variance so that all staff perform the procedure exactly the same way
• Convenience of saving steps to locate and use materials independent of the procedure

The Guidelines for the Prevention of Intravascular Catheter-Related Infections from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that the risk for infection declines following standardization of aseptic care. Moreover, the insertion and maintenance of intravascular catheters by inexperienced staff potentially increased the risk for catheter colonization and catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI).²

 

Standardized kits are also available for many surgical procedures and offer many of the same benefits of their vascular counterparts. Examples of these include incision and drainage (I&D) trays, arthroscopy kits, total knee replacement packs, and C-section setup packs. As the number of surgical procedures in the U.S. and the number of patients with increasingly complex comorbidities continues to rise, the stakes are becoming even higher.³

It is evident that standardization of procedure kits can help your practice or facility by having a positive effect on overall compliance to best practices. As you determine the appropriate components for your kits (eg, gowns, masks, caps, gloves, drapes, dressings, site prep solutionsetc), don’t forget to include Mastisol® Liquid Adhesive and Detachol® Adhesive Remover for any kit containing wound closure tapes or dressings:

• Mastisol^® Liquid Adhesive:  Reduce the risk of infection by creating a lasting occlusive dressing barrier by incorporating Mastisol^®
• Detachol^® Adhesive Remover: Miniminze risk of skin injury by implementing Detachol^® for safe dressing removal

There are many manufacturers that specialize in providing and customizing kits for facility-specific needs. Mastisol® and Detachol® are available components for many kit manufacturers.

For more information about Mastisol® and Detachol®, please contact your sales consultant or Eloquest Healthcare®, Inc., call 1-877-433-7626 or visit www.eloquesthealthcare.com.

Minimizing infection risk is an essential part of optimizing “The Triple Aim” of the Affordable Care Act. Eloquest Healthcare is committed to providing solutions that can help you reduce the risk of conditions like a CAUTI, CLABSI, or SSI.

Join us next time to read our blog, “Procedure Kits: Where Common Sense Makes Financial Sense.”

References

1. Standardizing care reduces costs, improves quality. Modern Healthcare. http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20150411/MAGAZINE/304119950. Published April 11, 2015. Accessed August 30, 2017.
2. O’Grady NP, Alexander M, Burns LA, et al. Guidelines for the Prevention of Intravascular Catheter-related Infections. Clin Infect Dis. 2011;52(9):e162-e193.
3. Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guideline for the prevention of surgical site infection, 2017. JAMA Surg published online May 2017. Doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2017.0904.