The CDC Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) recently added two new standard practices to the Core Infection Prevention and Control Practices for Safe Healthcare Delivery in All Settings guidelines:

 

• Injection and Medication Safety (5c): Prepare medications in a designated clean medication preparation area that is separated from potential sources of contamination, including sinks or other water sources.

• Minimizing Potential Exposure (5e): Develop and implement systems for early detection and management of potentially infectious persons at initial points of patient encounter in outpatient settings and at the time of admission to hospitals and long-term care facilities.

 

The guidance also indicates, “During periods of higher levels of community respiratory virus transmission*, facilities should consider having everyone mask upon entry to the facility to ensure better adherence to respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette for those who might be infectious. Such an approach could be implemented facility-wide or targeted toward higher risk areas (e.g., emergency departments, urgent care, units experiencing an outbreak) based on a facility risk assessment.” Additional information is available at CDC Infection Control.