You have been admitted to the hospital for surgery. You and your family or friends may have many feelings, like anxiety or nervousness, about the surgery. Rest assured that the hospital staff has standards in place to ensure that your stay during surgery is a safe one.
Hospitals follow safety and quality measures that are set by government organizations, researchers, and expert panels. These measures require hospitals to adopt safety techniques and procedures; report on how well they are implementing these procedures; and regularly train hospital staff. Here are some measures that the hospital staff will take to prevent surgical errors and infection during your hospital stay and surgery.
Receiving the correct surgery and care means making sure that your doctors, nurses, and others on your healthcare team know who you are. This means having your correct name, telephone number, and other unique identification on record. Hospitals have standards to:
One way the hospital staff will enforce these standards is by using at least two forms of patient identifiers. Having at least two forms when giving medicines, collecting blood samples, and performing surgery will decrease the chance of mistakes in patient care.
Along with correct patient identifiers, the hospital staff will make sure that all important information is collected prior to your surgery. This is called preprocedure verification. During this time, they will make sure that all information and equipment needed for your surgery are available. They will also make sure that the information and equipment are correctly matched to your patient identifiers and that they have reviewed the information among themselves and with you.
Doing surgery on the wrong part of the body can be a terrible mistake. Your surgical team will take careful actions to mark the specific site on your body where surgery will be done.
Hospitals have also adopted many standard procedures to help prevent infection during surgery. You may notice many of these techniques during your stay. If you are concerned about a technique to prevent infection, speak up. Ask your doctor about how they will prevent infection. Regular and thorough hand washing by hospital staff is one of the most important aspects of infection prevention.
The hospital staff will do the following to help prevent infection:
Many hospitals also have a program to identify patients who harbor dangerous bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant staph infection (MRSA) , prior to surgery.
Your healthcare team will do the following before, during, and after your surgery:
The hospital staff will follow strict guidelines so that your surgery and hospital stay are successful. However, there are things you can do as well to lower your risk of infection. Lifestyle factors, such as smoking, can actually increase your risk of infection. Consider these good habits and lifestyle changes:
Your doctor may also ask you to bathe with a special soap before surgery. Do not shave the area near where you will have surgery with a razor. This can irritate the skin.
Tell your healthcare team right away if you have any signs of an infection, like redness, swelling, pain, or fevers and chills.
Together, you and your healthcare team can ensure that your hospital stay and surgery is a safe one.
RESOURCES:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/
The Joint Commission
http://www.jointcommission.org/
References:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Infection control in healthcare settings. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/. Accessed December 29, 2009.
DynaMed Editorial Team. Surgical wound infection prevention. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed. Last updated December 14, 2009. Accessed December 31, 2009.
The Joint Commission. Accreditation program: hospital national patient safety goals. The Joint Commission website. Available at: http://www.jointcommission.org/NR/rdonlyres/868C9E07-037F-433D-8858-0D5FAA4322F2/0/RevisedChapter_HAP_NPSG_20090924.pdf. Created 2009. Accessed January 25, 2010
The Joint Commission. Infection control. The Joint Commission website. Available at: http://www.jointcommission.org/PatientSafety/InfectionControl/. Accessed December 29, 2009.
Last reviewed January 2010 by Ronald Nath, MD
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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