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Credit: CDC
New research suggests a federally sponsored plan to decrease the incidence of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) in the US was successful in addressing the challenges of prioritizing and coordinating strategies.
The plan has also been associated with reductions in the rates of HAIs, with progress made toward most targets where data are available.
Descriptions of the plan and its initial results appear in a series of articles published in a supplement to the February issue of Medical Care.
“Much progress has been made in raising awareness of and developing strategies for curbing the life-threatening infections that strike patients too often when they are receiving medical care,” said Katherine Kahn, MD, a leader of the project and professor at the Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“In order to make even more progress, we need to build our systems of care to be safer within and across hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and community settings.”
In 2009, the US Department of Health and Humans Services released a national plan aimed at preventing HAIs, called “National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections: Road Map to Elimination.”
Researchers performed an evaluation of the first few years of the plan, reviewing the structure of the effort, as well as the results thus far.
The plan focuses on evidence-based strategies, such as considering the benefits and risks when deciding about the use and duration of treatments like antibiotics.
Most of the prevention initiatives have focused on hospital settings, but the action plan has focused attention on efforts in other care settings, such as outpatient surgery centers, kidney dialysis centers, and long-term care facilities.
The investigators said these efforts have likely contributed to stakeholders’ reported perceptions of greater momentum in adopting strategies to prevent HAIs.
The national plan has generated clinical, political, and financial support for the complex efforts required to eliminate HAIs across federal, regional, state, and local settings.
Despite an influx of federal funding to support elimination of HAIs, the researchers said ongoing dedicated resources will be required to maintain momentum and sustain efforts made to date.
On the other hand, because future funding for efforts to further reduce HAIs is unclear, the investigators said it may be best to incorporate the efforts into the overall movement to improve patient safety. 
Credit: CDC
New research suggests a federally sponsored plan to decrease the incidence of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) in the US was successful in addressing the challenges of prioritizing and coordinating strategies.
The plan has also been associated with reductions in the rates of HAIs, with progress made toward most targets where data are available.
Descriptions of the plan and its initial results appear in a series of articles published in a supplement to the February issue of Medical Care.
“Much progress has been made in raising awareness of and developing strategies for curbing the life-threatening infections that strike patients too often when they are receiving medical care,” said Katherine Kahn, MD, a leader of the project and professor at the Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“In order to make even more progress, we need to build our systems of care to be safer within and across hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and community settings.”
In 2009, the US Department of Health and Humans Services released a national plan aimed at preventing HAIs, called “National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections: Road Map to Elimination.”
Researchers performed an evaluation of the first few years of the plan, reviewing the structure of the effort, as well as the results thus far.
The plan focuses on evidence-based strategies, such as considering the benefits and risks when deciding about the use and duration of treatments like antibiotics.
Most of the prevention initiatives have focused on hospital settings, but the action plan has focused attention on efforts in other care settings, such as outpatient surgery centers, kidney dialysis centers, and long-term care facilities.
The investigators said these efforts have likely contributed to stakeholders’ reported perceptions of greater momentum in adopting strategies to prevent HAIs.
The national plan has generated clinical, political, and financial support for the complex efforts required to eliminate HAIs across federal, regional, state, and local settings.
Despite an influx of federal funding to support elimination of HAIs, the researchers said ongoing dedicated resources will be required to maintain momentum and sustain efforts made to date.
On the other hand, because future funding for efforts to further reduce HAIs is unclear, the investigators said it may be best to incorporate the efforts into the overall movement to improve patient safety.
Credit: CDC
New research suggests a federally sponsored plan to decrease the incidence of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) in the US was successful in addressing the challenges of prioritizing and coordinating strategies.
The plan has also been associated with reductions in the rates of HAIs, with progress made toward most targets where data are available.
Descriptions of the plan and its initial results appear in a series of articles published in a supplement to the February issue of Medical Care.
“Much progress has been made in raising awareness of and developing strategies for curbing the life-threatening infections that strike patients too often when they are receiving medical care,” said Katherine Kahn, MD, a leader of the project and professor at the Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“In order to make even more progress, we need to build our systems of care to be safer within and across hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and community settings.”
In 2009, the US Department of Health and Humans Services released a national plan aimed at preventing HAIs, called “National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections: Road Map to Elimination.”
Researchers performed an evaluation of the first few years of the plan, reviewing the structure of the effort, as well as the results thus far.
The plan focuses on evidence-based strategies, such as considering the benefits and risks when deciding about the use and duration of treatments like antibiotics.
Most of the prevention initiatives have focused on hospital settings, but the action plan has focused attention on efforts in other care settings, such as outpatient surgery centers, kidney dialysis centers, and long-term care facilities.
The investigators said these efforts have likely contributed to stakeholders’ reported perceptions of greater momentum in adopting strategies to prevent HAIs.
The national plan has generated clinical, political, and financial support for the complex efforts required to eliminate HAIs across federal, regional, state, and local settings.
Despite an influx of federal funding to support elimination of HAIs, the researchers said ongoing dedicated resources will be required to maintain momentum and sustain efforts made to date.
On the other hand, because future funding for efforts to further reduce HAIs is unclear, the investigators said it may be best to incorporate the efforts into the overall movement to improve patient safety.