Ambulatory surgery centers are known for their typically low infection rates. The American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities confirmed this in September when it released statistics on patient safety in outpatient facilities. The data included outcomes and procedures for more than 12 million cases and found that the infection rate was one in 2,400 procedures.
However, ASCs, like any other healthcare facility, are certainly not immune to the spread of infection. In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers determined rates of surgical site infections following ambulatory surgery. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that 3.09 per 1000 patients had developed SSIs 14 days after surgery, representing 63.7 of all SSIs the study population experienced. It also found that 4.84 per 1000 patients had developed SSIs 30 days after surgery.
A 2010 Journal of the American Medical Association study also found lapses in infection control were common among 68 ASCs assessed in Maryland, North Carolina and Oklahoma. When it comes to patient care, it is clear that there is always room for improvement.
Learn more about infection prevention in ASCs and how process standardization and managing quality performance can help improve infection control during a webinar hosted by Becker's ASC Review and CareFusion on Nov. 10 from 6.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. CST.
