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Introduction of software tools for epidemiological surveillance in infection control in Colombia
Cristhian Hernández-Gómez1, Gabriel Motoa1, Marta Vallejo2
1Unidad de Resistencia Bacteriana y Epidemiología Hospitalaria, Centro Internacional de Entrenamiento e Investigaciones Médicas (CIDEIM), Cali, Colombia.
Insights
Electronic surveillance significantly improved adherence to active surveillance for Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) in Colombian hospitals. While case identification was high, diligent recording of risk factors for device-associated HAIs needs improvement.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Public Health
- Health Informatics
Background:
- Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) pose a significant patient safety risk.
- Manual epidemiological surveillance (ES) methods can compromise monitoring accuracy.
- Electronic surveillance offers enhanced performance, quality, and data traceability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the implementation of electronic surveillance for HAI, bacterial resistance, and antimicrobial consumption.
- To assess the impact on Infection Control Committees (ICC) in Colombian hospitals.
- To analyze adherence to standardized surveillance protocols.
Main Methods:
- Observational study design.
- Evaluation of ICC structure, operation, and electronic tool integration (HAI Solutions software).
- Assessment of adherence to data recording requirements.
Main Results:
- 38% of hospitals utilized active surveillance strategies aligned with CDC criteria.
- 87% of institutions successfully adopted the case identification module within the HAI Solutions software.
- Compliance with recording risk factors for device-associated HAIs was only 33%.
Conclusions:
- Electronic surveillance can enhance adherence to standardized, prospective active surveillance models.
- Implementation of electronic tools improves the validity and quality of recorded HAI data.
- Further efforts are needed to ensure comprehensive data capture for risk factors.
Introduction:
Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) are a challenge for patient safety in the hospitals. Infection control committees (ICC) should follow CDC definitions when monitoring HAI. The handmade method of epidemiological surveillance (ES) may affect the sensitivity and specificity of the monitoring system, while electronic surveillance can improve the performance, quality and traceability of recorded information.
Objective:
To assess the implementation of a strategy for electronic surveillance of HAI, Bacterial Resistance and Antimicrobial Consumption by the ICC of 23 high-complexity clinics and hospitals in Colombia, during the period 2012-2013.
Methods:
An observational study evaluating the introduction of electronic tools in the ICC was performed; we evaluated the structure and operation of the ICC, the degree of incorporation of the software HAI Solutions and the adherence to record the required information.
Results:
Thirty-eight percent of hospitals (8/23) had active surveillance strategies with standard criteria of the CDC, and 87% of institutions adhered to the module of identification of cases using the HAI Solutions software. In contrast, compliance with the diligence of the risk factors for device-associated HAIs was 33%.
Conclusions:
The introduction of ES could achieve greater adherence to a model of active surveillance, standardized and prospective, helping to improve the validity and quality of the recorded information.
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