Policy Options for Effective Oversight of Outpatient Settings

Brief Summary
Healthcare delivery has increasingly shifted to outpatient venues, which are over-represented as settings for outbreaks stemming from breakdowns in basic infection control, including reuse of syringes. Compared to acute care facilities, emphasis on infection control in outpatient settings has been lacking and these facilities often operate with limited oversight from state licensing boards or federal authorities. Efforts to define and enforce basic standards of outpatient infection control (e.g., www.cdc.gov/hai/settings/outpatient/outpatient-care-guidelines.html) and effective oversight activities (e.g., audits and inspections), though increasing, require strengthening at both the state and federal levels. This roundtable discussion will address a variety of policy options, emphasizing those which might be implemented at the state and local levels. These will include reporting requirements (e.g., notifiable diseases, potential outbreaks of healthcare-associated infections, high risk infection control breaches), investigation authorities, healthcare personnel education and training, and facility licensing/accreditation. The roundtable organizers will present information that has been vetted by partners including CSTE, NACCHO, and ASTHO, as part of ongoing efforts to identify effective public policy options to eliminate healthcare-associated infections. Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss and inform further development of a set of relevant model public health policies. A potential outcome of this work and the Roundtable session specifically is the development of one or more CSTE Position Statements.