Annual Report 2023
Department of Safety Management, Office of Infection Control and Prevention
Keiji Okinaka, Yusuke Ainoda, Asako Hashimoto, Satoshi Saito, Akira Shinohara, Kenya Tanimoto, Go Sato, Yui Muto, Miyuki Tango
Introduction
The Office of Infection Control and Prevention was established in October 2016. The objective of our office is to promote hospital infection control to reduce the transmission of communicable diseases among patients, healthcare workers, and visitors. Our office also promotes antimicrobial stewardship.
The Team and What We Do
Our missions include:
- Developing infection control policies and in-hospital guidelines
- Managing the surveillance system of healthcare-associated infections and drug-resistant bacteria to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases
- Maintaining manuals regarding infection control and antimicrobial stewardship
- Inspecting and improving the quality of the hospital environment using ward rounds
- Inspecting and improving compliance with hand hygiene and other infection control measures using ward rounds
- Offering consulting services regarding infection control problems
- Preventing and managing needlestick injuries
- Vaccinating staff with insufficient protective immunity
- Planning the provision of employee education and educational campaigns to promote infection control and antimicrobial stewardship
- Planning conferences among regional hospitals to promote the improvement of infection control in each hospital
- Promoting antimicrobial stewardship
- Inspecting and promoting the proper disposal of medical waste
In 2023, our activities focused on improving hand hygiene compliance rates, preventing the spread of COVID-19, addressing facility-related concerns such as Legionella in tap water, and preparing for evaluation by the Japan Council for Quality Health Care.
Research Activities
We hold weekly interdisciplinary research meetings to support ongoing and emerging studies. Recent research initiatives include:
- Evaluating risk factors for false positives in HIV screening tests
- Analyzing trends in COVID-19 antiviral prescriptions
- Assessing the efficacy of rapid microbial identification devices
We have also initiated activities to promote vaccination for cancer patients and will continue conducting questionnaire surveys to evaluate the impact of these efforts.
Education
- We conduct regular infection control seminars for all staff and provide comprehensive training for new employees. Additionally, we offer feedback to physicians to promote the appropriate use of antibiotics.
- The infection control nurses also provide consultation services on infection control measures to local hospitals and healthcare facilities.
- In 2023, we organized seminars covering topics such as blood and body fluid exposure, COVID-19 in cancer patients, vaccination, and the use of oral antibiotics.
Future Prospects
- We will secure medical education funding to take the initiative in promoting vaccination for cancer patients.
- It is anticipated that incidents of COVID-19 among hospitalized patients will persist in the future. Therefore, our goal is to prevent intra-hospital transmission through early detection and rapid response.
- In line with national policy for antimicrobial resistance, we will continue our efforts to promote the appropriate use of antibiotics.
- We are advancing the development of personnel responsible for infection control to strive towards creating a sustainable organization.