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Immunization of Healthcare Workers
The Centers for Disease Control for many years has recommended an annual influenza immunization for health care workers (HCWs). The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations recently announced the approval of an infection control standard that requires accredited organizations to offer influenza vaccinations to staff, volunteers, and licensed independent practitioners with close patient contact. The standard became an accreditation requirement beginning January 1, 2007, for the Critical Access Hospital, Hospital and Long-Term Care accreditation programs. Despite the overwhelming support, the national annual influenza immunization rate for HCWs remains around 40%.
Studies show that influenza causes an average of 36,000 deaths and over 200,000 hospitalizations in the United States each year. Furthermore, healthcare-associated transmission of influenza has been documented among many patient populations in a variety of clinical settings, and infections have been linked epidemiologically to unvaccinated health care workers. With recent increased awareness of influenza due to worries about a possible pandemic, the time is right to continue to strongly promote the immunization of all HCWs.
The Iowa Healthcare Collaborative (IHC) currently has a web-based reporting tool for tracking Influenza Vaccination Among Health Care Workers (contact is Kathy Trytten, Director, Information and Quality Management, tryttenk@ihaonline.org). The aggregate total percentage of hospitals reporting this metric will be included in the 2007 Iowa Report. The employee influenza vaccination target with this measurement technique is 95% by 2010. The 2007 measurement will serve as a baseline for increasing Iowa influenza vaccination among healthcare workers.
View the IHC toolkits and their contents.
Resources for providers to ensure safe and effective long-term anticoagulation therapy in all care settings.
Information on how to deploy the NQF 30 Safe Practices.
Information that discusses how to better communicate medical information to patients.
Information on the monitoring and reporting of HAIs.
This process improvement method can help providers deliver more efficient care that saves resources and improves quality.
Details on the principles and components of a patient centered medical home, including the business case and how to become one.
Resources for providers to avoid adverse drug events.
Resources for the safe administration of narcotics and opioids.
Information and resources for providers in their efforts to assist patients with tobacco cessation.
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