Masking or Not Masking (the ongoing discussion)
It’s now the end of 2022, and in addition to Covid-19, Influenza and RSV have been causing a significant strain on the public’s health. It’s like a never-ending story. We think we have a…
Perspective
Practitioners, researchers and innovators share their experience and views. Perspectives are edited but not peer-reviewed.
ISO and Infectious Diseases: Watch out for ISO 45006 Guidelines
ISO and Infectious Diseases: Watch out for ISO 45006 Guidelines for Organizations on Preventing and Managing Infectious Diseases Usually when we hear about ISO, we think about specific standards like ISO 9001 and the…
Non-Invasive COVID-19 Surface Test to Keep Employees Safe
Since December 2019, the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has spread across the world, wreaking havoc on a global scale that has devastated economies and taken a serious human toll. While vaccines have been approved, it…
Q&A April 1, Webinar: N95 USE, Disinfection and REUSE
The following document represents some of the Questions and Answers from the TIPS Master Class Webinar held on April 1, 2020. You can watch the full presentation here: N95 RESPIRATOR USE, DISINFECTION AND RE-USE:…
Overview of Chemical Disinfection of N95 FFRs
LIVE DOCUMENT: Last updated April 2, 2020 3:53 PM EDT We will update this document as new information becomes available Introduction Disinfection and re-use of N95 full facepiece respirators is of critical interest during…
Increasing Importance of Barriers for Protection from Infectious Disease
Reduction of hospital-acquired infections is a major priority for hospital systems around the world. However, adoption of new technologies is often stunted due to acceptance of sub-optimal practices as ‘good enough.’ With lessons from…
Hospital Infections: The Impact on Healthcare Worker Absenteeism
About half of all healthcare worker (HCW) absence can be attributed to gastrointestinal and/or respiratory illness, two sets of conditions that could be caught from patients. HCWs likely experience infection-related illness 1.5 times more…
Electronic Reporting Gives Healthcare Employers the Nudge They Need to Protect Their Own
In the United States the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced their new electronic reporting requirements for US workplaces. Beginning July 2017, most US employers will – for the first time ever –…
Personal Protective Equipment Strikethrough: Risk or Rhetoric?
The CBS investigative news program “60 Minutes” aired a segment called “Strikethrough: A Matter of Life, Death, and Litigation” on Sunday May 1, 2016. Anderson Cooper reported that a major medical device and personal…
Barriers to Practice: A Case Study of Policy Implementation in South Africa
Health care workers (HCWs) and patients are at risk of acquiring tuberculosis (TB) infection in health care facilities. Such risk characterizes TB as a dual public health threat - first as a communicable disease…
Endoscopes: A Patient versus Worker Health Dilemma – Total Health
As the public becomes more aware of the possibility of becoming infected with drug resistant pathogens from inadequately reprocessed endoscopes when they undergo endoscopic procedures, our duties increase as professionals because we are dedicated…
Hepatitis C Virus Still Unacceptably High Risk for Healthcare Workers
Background: A recently published study describes that the prevalence of occupational hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is higher than the general population. This study provides insights into the risk associated with virus acquisition from…
Occupational Risk on the Rise: Turning a Blind Eye
In hospitals and health clinics, the goal is to always treat the patients. An emerging concern is the welfare of the health care workers that are involved in the treatment, and their regular exposure…
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