5
practice partner
Infection Control and prevention
top
high risk
practices
Recommendations aimed
at preventing spread of
infection to patients, staff
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icon: flaticon.com
T
he structure and function in clinical office
settings provide ample opportunity for the
transmission of infection through direct
person-to-person spread, indirect spread
through inanimate objects (fomites) and in waiting
rooms that may be a source for many communicable
diseases.
Based on the feedback from the College, and its peer
assessors, Public Health Ontario (PHO) has developed
recommendations that target the top five high-risk
practices leading to infection transmission in the office
setting.
The recommendations, which use the Infection Prevention and Control for Clinical Office Practice document as
a foundation, addresses the top five practices that put
patients, staff and others at risk in a physician’s office,
said Dr. Gary Garber, Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control of PHO.
“Integrating best practices into routine care and
responding to infections in an expected fashion will
decrease risks from outbreaks, elevate the general level
of practice and protect the public and office staff,” said
Dr. Garber, in a letter to the College.
Below are PHO’s recommendations for addressing
high-risk practices:
1
Lancets, glucometers and insulin pens
• Lancets must be single use only.
• ancet hubs (holds the lancet) must be single use only.
L
• nsulin pens must be single patient use only.
I
• lood glucose monitoring devices (Glucometers) and
B
other blood testing devices, should not be shared
between patients.
• f they must be shared, the device must be designed
I
for multi-patient use and cleaned and disinfected
after each use, per manufacturer’s recommendation.
If the manufacturer does not specify how the device
should be cleaned and disinfected then the device cannot be shared.
Issue 1, 2015 Dialogue
Issue1_15.indd 35
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2015-03-19 11:18 AM