Infection Control
VA Programs Are Comparable to Nonfederal Programs but Can Be Enhanced Gao ID: HRD-90-27 January 31, 1990Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals' infection control programs, focusing on: (1) whether VA used infection control data to prevent future infections; (2) whether VA infection control programs were adequately staffed and organized; and (3) VA infection control programs' effectiveness compared to nonfederal hospital programs.
GAO found that: (1) VA had not updated its infection control guidance since 1979; (2) VA guidelines clearly required only 16 of 56 basic elements considered essential to infection control programs; (3) infection control practitioners in 5 of 7 VA medical centers that GAO studied took personal initiatives that exceeded VA guidance, thereby incorporating most of the 56 basic elements; (4) practitioners incorporated 12 elements less frequently than the remaining 44 elements, because the VA guidelines did not adequately address those elements; (5) VA hospitals generally incorporated 44 GAO program elements, while nonfederal hospitals generally incorporated 42; (6) VA and nonfederal hospitals' specific practices were similar; (7) as VA guidelines required only one infection control practitioner for every 200 to 250 beds, 55 percent of VA programs were understaffed in 1987; and (8) VA regional offices inadequately monitored infection control programs in four of seven medical centers reviewed, primarily because the regional offices lacked guidance from a central, coordinating office, did not share infection control data, and did not include knowledgeable personnel in their inspection teams.
RecommendationsOur recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.
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