PRACTICE PARTNER
Physicians urged to work with clinic owners
to implement infection control measures
I
n medical practices, there are ample
opportunities for infection to be
transmitted. Infectious agents are not
only spread person-to-person, but can
also be spread indirectly through inanimate
ob jects. And the waiting room of any clini-
cal office practice can be a source for a
whole host of communicable diseases.
As such, protective mechanisms
Infection
must be in place, not only in direct
Control and
Prevention
patient management but in handling
of the clinical office environment as
well.
If it is the physician’s own practice, it
is clear to everyone that it would be the
physician who bears the responsibility for
ensuring that infection control and pre-
vention measures are in place. However, a
number of clinics in Ontario are owned by
individuals who are not health-care pro-
fessionals and who may have little or no
awareness of appropriate infection control
practices. In the course of conducting
inspections in these facilities, physicians
working at the clinics have sometimes taken
the position that it is not their responsibil-
ity to ensure infection control practices
are followed, because they do not own the
clinic nor do they manage it and, in fact,
are often not even full-time employees.
The College takes the position that
each physician is responsible for ensur-
ing proper infection control principles are
being followed, and this includes working
with employers/owners to ensure that their
practice setting supports them in meeting
the standard of practice set out by the CPSO
and ensuring patients are safe.
The College’s expectations about infection
prevention and control are set out in the
Infection Prevention and Control Handbook
for Clinical Office Practice, developed by The
Provincial Infection Diseases Advisory Com-
mittee on Infection Prevention and Control
in collaboration with the College which is
available on our website.
MD
ISSUE 3, 2018 DIALOGUE
25