Medicus, Vol. 20 No. 1_Influenca, 2011.
Review article
Hospital Infections as a Healthcare Quality Indicator
Vesna Mađarić
; Opća bolnica “Dr. Tomislav Bardek”
Abstract
Hospital infections play a significant role in the quality assessment of healthcare services. The purpose of the hospital infections management system is to improve the quality of healthcare services provided to patients and to protect the health of the medical staff. Despite advances in modern medicine, 5-10% of hospitalized patients acquire a healthcare-associated infection. The number of deaths attributable to hospital infections associated with multidrug-resistant bacteria in the EU, Iceland and Norway is approximately 25.000 per year. Hospital infections cause increased morbidity and mortality, especially in intensive care units, i.e. in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia or those with central venous or urinary catheters. Hospital infection rates represent a significant indicator of the quality of healthcare services. They are also an indicator of the quality of healthcare processes and healthcare results. As hospital infections also carry a significant risk for the quality and safety of healthcare services, each healthcare institution should implement a risk management strategy based on the basic principles of work quality and risk prevention. In accordance with this strategy, they should identify, assess and analyze risk of hospital infections, implement changes, and continuously implement improvements through benchmarking with best practice standards for hospital infections risk management. Only healthcare institutions with quality and risk management systems will be eligible for accreditation.
Keywords
hospital infections; indicator; risk management
Hrčak ID:
77366
URI
Publication date:
3.1.2011.
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