TITLE: Nosocomial Infection as a Collaboration between Industrial

SPEAKERS: Pinar Keskinocak and Ellen Do

ABSTRACT:

In the U.S. alone, nosocomial (hospital-acquired)infections occur at the rate of approximately two million per year, with one hundred thousand of these leading to death. The suffering, loss of productivity, expenditure of scarce health-care resources, coupled with the rising resistance of many pathogens, make this issue urgent and important. Since it is difficult or expensive to observe colonization and ascertain whether a patient was infected prior to, or during hospitalization, and the process by which pathogens spread depends on the behavior of patients, health-care workers, visitors and the community at large, the best strategy to reduce nosocomial infection rates is unknown. Two possible approaches to reduction include: screening for isolation and improved hygiene approaches. The costs involved are not yet clear, and in particular, the non-healthcare productivity costs need to be included in any cost-benefit analysis of policies.

Pinar Keskinocak will discuss her research on Evaluating the Efficacy and Efficiency of Competing Approaches to Reducing Nosocomial Infection Rates, using simulation to model how different strategies may impact rates of nosocomial infections, their costs in the long and short term, as well as the overall interaction between hospitals and the community. Improved adherence to hand hygiene can significantly reduce the transmission of multi-drug resistant organisms and prevent many healthcare associated infections. Despite widespread acceptance of the importance of hand hygiene and the existence of CDC/HICPAC guidelines recommending hand hygiene before and after patient contact, compliance with hand hygiene is poor in many healthcare settings. Successful programs to increase hand hygiene compliance are multifaceted and include a component of compliance monitoring. Electronic monitoring and reminding systems show considerable promise in providing significant and lasting improvements in hand hygiene.

Ellen Yi-Luen Do will discuss the project of Nosocomial Control using RFID technology with Evidence-Based Design for patient rooms, as well as the Technological Interventions and Measurement for Hand Hygiene Adherence project to create a next generation monitoring system that will allow more accurate automatic data measurement and recording, to be implemented at Emory Crawford Long Hospital pending on CDC funding.