When we educate hospitals on the prevention of catheter infections, we talk about standardizing practice. We know in the acute care setting that washing hands, scrubbing hubs, sterile dressing changes, 30 second site scrub with chlorhexadine, bundles and choosing the best vein for the catheter are becoming the standards for prevention of infections. Do you follow your patient home? follow them to a skilled nursing facility? It would only take a phone call to find out what their process is for caring for the patients device while in their care. Standardizing practice, educating the entire team is key to preventing readmissions. When looking at the Affordable Care Act and value based purchasing we need to make education part our discharge process. We will need to include all health care workers, patients and family members in the education process for care and maintenance. When I call these facilities they are more than happy to talk with me and partner for the best care for our patients. We do not want to see these patients readmitted for a catheter related blood stream infection.
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