Public Policy
08/06/2012
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report reviewing bloodborne pathogen outbreaks resulting from unsafe injection practices, and government efforts to address this continuing problem. The GAO noted that, although the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) infection control surveyor worksheets include data on unsafe injection practices, limited resources have caused CMS to discontinue monitoring and assessment in ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) beyond FY 2011. In its report, GAO recommended that CMS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) work together to resume collecting and monitoring data on unsafe injection practices in ASCs. It also recommended that the One and Only Campaign, a joint effort by the CDC Foundation and the Safe Injection Practices Coalition (of which APIC is a member), strengthen efforts to target its educational message to facilities not overseen by CMS, such as physicians' offices. Several APIC members were interviewed by the GAO during its preparation of this report.
