Dec 19, 2016 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
Latest research provides new opportunities for clinical laboratories to demonstrate how testing can help curb hospital-acquired infections
Pathologists, microbiologists, and other healthcare providers have long been aware that hospital patients taking antibiotics are at higher risk of contracting the potentially deadly Clostridium difficile infection (C. diff). But new research adds an interesting twist to this issue.
Recent research indicates that being a “second user” of a bed may be another risk factor for acquiring the disease. This will give clinical laboratory professionals, microbiologists, and others on the front lines of hospital infection control programs another factor to consider when working to halt the spread of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs).
The recent study was published online in JAMA Internal Medicine. It shows that patients put in a hospital bed previously occupied by someone given antibiotics are 22% more likely to develop the C. difficile infection, even if they do not themselves receive antibiotics. (more…)
Oct 7, 2013 | Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily
A sold-out audience gathered at the seventh annual Lab Quality Confab and heard speakers from the nation’s most innovative medical laboratories share case studies about success in cutting lab expenses and improving quality
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA—At a time when medical laboratories in the United States are experiencing significant financial challenges, there was plenty of guarded optimism among the clinical laboratory managers and pathologists who gathered in this famous city last week for the seventh annual Lab Quality Confab.
One reason for this optimism is that speakers and attendees at this sold-out meeting are the nation’s leading experts in the use of Lean, Six Sigma, and process improvement methods in medical laboratories and pathology groups. They know how to cut lab costs while maintaining quality and boosting the productivity of the lab’s staff and automated systems. (more…)
Feb 6, 2013 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
The study found that a Robotic vapor-dispersing device kills and prevents spread of Drug-Resistant Organisms in high-risk patients by 64%
There is a new technology for disinfecting healthcare facilities that is likely to be useful for clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups.
A team at Johns Hopkins University Hospital recently published a study about their institution’s use of hydrogen peroxide vapor to disinfect hospital rooms.
The study was conducted over two and one-half years and involved hospital rooms used by thousands of patients. The goal of this study was to verify the effectiveness of a new robot-like device, known as Bioquell Q-10. This system disperses a hydrogen peroxide vapor to disinfect hospital rooms and was described in a news release issued by Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University Hospital. (more…)
Jan 18, 2013 | Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
In the future, pathologists and clinical laboratory administrators may need to plan for a canine addition to their traditional laboratory staff
See Cliff sniff C. diff! No, that’s not a line from a new reading primer. In fact, it refers to one hospital’s innovation for early detection of Clostridium difficile (C. diff): a two-year-old beagle named Cliff. Cliff the Beagle is faster at detecting certain infections than the standard clinical laboratory tests used daily in hospitals throughout the world.
Researchers from Vrije University Medical Center (VUMC) in Amsterdam successfully used the trained beagle to detect the smell of C. difficile in hospitals. The researchers believe trained canine disease detectives like Cliff could be a cheap and effective way to conduct routine C. diff screening in hospitals. (more…)
Apr 1, 2009 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
As more attention is paid to reducing the number of healthcare-associated infections (HIAs), hospitals and health systems respond with proactive programs to eliminate many obvious sources of such infections. In turn, this affects hospital laboratories, since they play a key role in every hospital’s infection control program.
The basic statistics are stunning. Hospital-acquired infections (HIAs) affect nearly 2 million Americans annually, resulting in 90,000 deaths and up to $6.5 billion in extra costs, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
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