This is the first of a 2-part series focusing on the importance of proper dressing removal. Skin injury happens across all care settings and among all age groups.1 When proper technique for the application and/or removal of adhesive products is not used, tissue damage can occur, which not only impacts patient safety and quality of…
Welcome back to the third in this series of blogs focusing on Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections (CRBSIs). In the first blog, the importance of ensuring the integrity of medical dressings and devices over extended periods of time was reviewed (View Blog 1 of 3). Blog 2 of the series reviewed the clinical impact products compatible with…
The last blog began a 3-part series focusing on catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs). We saw that as vascular catheter use has increased, bloodstream infections have become a costly complication of health care. We also reviewed how preventing dressing disruption with Mastisol Liquid Adhesive® reduces the likelihood of dressing displacement and minimizes the risk of infection.…
This is the first of a 3-part series focusing on catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs). As catheter use increases, bloodstream infections (BSIs) resulting from intravascular catheters have become a costly complication of health care. To start, the terms CRBSI and central line–associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) are often used interchangeably to describe intravascular device (IVD)–related bloodstream infections.…
PROCEDURES WHERE KITS HELP Vascular Access Devices PIV Starts CVC Insertion PICC Lines Epidurals Dressing Changes Surgical Procedures In our last blog, we reviewed how standardization of procedure kits can help your facility by increasing overall compliance to best practices. Yet another advantage of procedures kits is the financial benefit. A case in point is…
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,…
As mentioned in our last posting, SSIs are the most common and costly of all hospital-acquired infections in the US.1 If you happened to have missed it, read it here. Accordingly, efforts to reduce SSI rates have led to the development of post-op dressings with antimicrobial agents impregnated within the dressing. These dressing inhibit the…
You might remember from our previous blogs that certain measures, like surgical site infections (SSIs) are penalized in multiple programs of the Affordable Care Act—in the Value-Based Purchasing Program as well as the Hospital-Acquired Conditions Reduction Program. View Blog #2 and Blog #3 here. SSIs are the most common and costly of all hospital-acquired infections…
As posted previously, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) established penalty measures for the performance of acute care hospitals. In fact, some measures are penalized in multiple programs1,2: VALUE-BASED PURCHASING PROGRAM (VBP) – For more information about the VBP Program, see our previous blog. HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED CONDITIONS (HAC) REDUCTION PROGRAM – For more information about the HAC…
Our last blog provided some background on the READMISSIONS REDUCTION PROGRAM —a three-year rolling process of reporting all-cause readmissions within 30 days of discharge, along with potential penalties.1 Today, we’ll look at the third program established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA): the HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED CONDITIONS (HAC) REDUCTION PROGRAM. HAC REDUCTION PROGRAM allows the Centers for…