Infection control lacking in outpatient oncology, FDA says

The FDA hosted a webinar focusing on the importance of infection control in outpatient oncology, ContagionLive reported.

Here are the key takeaways:

1. Specifically, the FDA focused on disease outbreaks stemming from failures in compounding standards and injection practices.

2. Patients in outpatient oncology settings are at a higher risk for infection due to visiting multiple healthcare settings during treatment and for having indwelling intravascular access devices.

3. Infection control in outpatient oncology is often overlooked due to the lack of policies and procedures. As healthcare moves toward outpatient settings, infection control must be established and reinforced, the FDA said.