Clinical laboratory science : journal of the American Society for Medical Technology
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Other industries and certain healthcare specialties have employed a variety of methods to improve safety and quality of services. Techniques such as industry-wide standardized collection and reporting of error data, standardization of practice through checklists, application of electronic health records, and simulator-based interdisciplinary training have improved outcomes in aviation, anesthesiology, and surgery. Although traditionally the clinical laboratory has concentrated on analytical performance, pre- and post-analytical aspects of laboratory services may also be improved through the application of these methods.
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A study was undertaken to determine the incidence of Acinetobacter baumannii and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) contamination on reusable phlebotomy tourniquets at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, TX. ⋯ Reusable tourniquets could serve as a potential reservoir for bacterial pathogens.
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The regulation implementing the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (PSQIA) was published on November 21, 2008, and became effective on January 19, 2009 (42 C.F.R. Part 3). PSQIA establishes a voluntary reporting system to enhance the data available to assess and resolve patient safety and health care quality issues. To encourage the reporting and analysis of medical errors, PSQIA provides federal privilege and confidentiality protections for patient safety information. ⋯ This new legislation provides a vehicle to better understand at a macro level how the clinical laboratory threatens patient safety and how that threat can be better controlled. What is imperative is that the clinical laboratory staff be involved in collecting and analyzing data. If they are not, the probability is high that data being reported by the laboratory will be misunderstood at the PSO and laboratories may be cited as a threat to patient safety because of a lack of understanding of laboratory operations.
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To evaluate the carriage rates of Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a university student population and describe risk factors associated with the carriage of each. ⋯ The carriage rate of S. aureus is consistent with similar studies. MRSA carriage in this university study appears high as compared to the general population. Although this study did not confirm a variety of risk factors for carriage of MRSA previously identified by others, university healthcare personnel should be aware of the changing epidemiology of MRSA and preventive measures needed to avoid outbreaks.
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To assess survival of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on fomites encountered by health students. ⋯ Previous studies showed fomite survival of MRSA for about two weeks using contact plate sampling and MRSA on 7.4% of stethoscopes. We showed longer MRSA survival times by wet swab sampling and a higher stethoscope contamination rate. As expected, higher organism loads survived longer.