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Achieving a National Patient Safety Goal: Reducing the Risk of Health Care–Associated Infections in Physical Therapy Practice

An estimated 722,000 health care–associated infections (HAIs) occurred in acute care hospitals in the United States in 2011. Pathogens that were not causing clinical disease at the time of admission but develop during hospitalization are defined as HAIs. The majority of HAIs include central line–associated blood stream infections, ventilator-associated pneumonias, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and surgical site infections. Physical therapists as clinicians are exposed to patients at increased risk for development of HAIs. Outbreaks occur when there is a breach in infectious disease prevention protocol. To promote patient safety, physical therapists should implement strategies that decrease the risk of transmission of pathogens associated with HAIs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, The Joint Commission, The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, and The Infectious Diseases Society of America's Standards and Practice Guidelines Committee provide evidence-based guidelines on minimizing the risk of transference. The purpose of this article was to demonstrate methods in which the clinician can recognize, act, and develop evidence-based strategies to improve patient safety at all points of care throughout the day.