Indiana Hospital Patients May Have Been Exposed to Infectious Diseases
A recent letter from an Indiana hospital was sent to almost 1,200 patients informing them of a possible exposure to some infectious diseases. Those patients had all undergone surgery at the hospital between April 1 and September 30, 2019.
The letter explained that a necessary sterilization step in a multi-step cleaning process had not been performed by one of the hospital’s surgical instrument sterilization technicians. The concern was the possible exposure to hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus, and the human immunodeficiency (HIV) virus.
Patients receiving the letter were given a number to call in order to set up a time to have their blood tested for the viruses and to receive answers for any questions they might have.
The full press release detailed the procedure that the hospital followed after learning about the issue. This excerpt from that release details several steps taken by the hospital:
- Conducted a thorough investigation of surgical patients potentially impacted.
- Identified 1,182 surgical patients who may have been exposed.
- Sent letters via mail to all patients, notifying them of the issue and providing a phone number for questions and details regarding free testing.
- Set up testing at a centralized testing center for patients. All testing is provided at no cost to patients.
- Established a call center for patients to ask questions and conveniently schedule testing.
Compliance Perspective
Failure to discover that an employee was not performing the necessary sterilization steps required in the facility’s multi-step cleaning process for over a six-month period, placing numerous patients at risk for serious infectious diseases, may indicate an ineffective Infection Prevention and Control Program and may be considered provision of substandard quality of care, in violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures regarding the need for continuous monitoring and oversight of the facility’s Infection Prevention and Control Program in order to prevent breaches of protocol that could place patients in danger of exposure to serious infectious diseases.
- Train staff on a repetitive and ongoing basis about the multi-step process involved in sterilizing equipment or other infection control protocols, and require demonstration of competency.
- Periodically audit to determine if staff understand and are scrupulously following infection prevention and control protocols.
