Whether you've managed to keep your practice open, recently opened or are poised to do so, you need to know how to do it right – for the safety of your patients, your staff and you, the health care provider. Here are some of the current recommendations for health care practices courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):
"Measures should be implemented before patient arrival, upon arrival, throughout the duration of the patient's visit, and until the patient's room is cleaned and disinfected [to minimize chances of exposure]."
"When scheduling appointments .. instruct patients to call ahead and discuss the need to reschedule their appointment if they develop fever or symptoms of COVID-19 on the day they are scheduled to be seen."
"Actively assess all visitors for fever and COVID-19 symptoms upon entry to the facility. If fever or COVID-19 symptoms are present, the visitor should not be allowed entry into the facility."
"In some settings, patients might opt to wait in a personal vehicle or outside the healthcare facility where they can be contacted by mobile phone when it is their turn to be evaluated."
"Patients and visitors should, ideally, be wearing their own cloth face covering upon arrival to the facility. If not, they should be offered a facemask or cloth face covering as supplies allow, which should be worn while they are in the facility (if tolerated)."
"Post visual alerts (e.g., signs, posters) at the entrance and in strategic places ... to provide instructions (in appropriate languages) about hand hygiene and respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette."
"Incorporate questions about new onset of COVID-19 symptoms into daily assessments of all admitted patients. Monitor for and evaluate all new fevers and symptoms consistent with COVID-19 among patients."
"As part of routine practice, HCP should be asked to regularly monitor themselves for fever and symptoms of COVID-19."
"The number of [health care personnel; HCP] present during the procedure should be limited to only those essential for patient care and procedure support. Visitors should not be present for the procedure."
"HCP should perform hand hygiene before and after all patient contact, contact with potentially infectious material, and before putting on and after removing PPE, including gloves. Hand hygiene after removing PPE is particularly important to remove any pathogens that might have been transferred to bare hands during the removal process."
"Routine cleaning and disinfection procedures (e.g., using cleaners and water to pre-clean surfaces prior to applying an EPA-registered, hospital-grade disinfectant to frequently touched surfaces or objects for appropriate contact times as indicated on the product's label) are appropriate."
For any staff member with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection, "Exclude from work until at least 3 days (72 hours) have passed since recovery defined as resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and improvement in respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath); and at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared."
"Encourage use of alternative mechanisms for patient and visitor interactions such as video-call applications on cell phones or tablets."
Click here to read the comprehensive CDC guidelines to maximize infection prevention and control in health care settings in the age of COVID-19.
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