Jacksonville Surgery Center Infection Lawyers
Surgery centers have become a popular, lower-cost alternative to a hospital visit or overnight stay. A patient may go to a same day surgery center for a plastic surgery procedure, a colonoscopy or to receive chemotherapy. There are at least 5,000 ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) in the U.S. that participate in the Medicare program which pays at least $3 billion annually to cover more than six million procedures.
Increasingly, a physician or physician group owns the facility and more than three-quarters of all operations in the U.S. are now performed on an outpatient basis.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 2010 looked at more than 68 ASCs in the U.S., and specifically their infection control practices.
According to the JAMA report, more than 67 percent of the facilities had at least one lapse in infection control and up to 28 percent had three or more lapses in infection control. That could include everything from reusing a single-dose medication vial for more than one patient, failing to follow directions in handing blood glucose monitoring equipment and failing to wash hands or wear gloves between visiting patients.
Compared to inpatient settings, ambulatory care has typically lacked the resources to support infection prevention. Many of the outbreaks of viruses, parasites and bacteria found there are due to a breakdown in basic infection control procedures.
It is a difficult if not impossible task for states to keep up inspections and some of the surgical centers in the JAMA report had not been inspected in a dozen years.
Ambulatory care requires a greater participation by all to control infection.
The patient should keep his hands clean and make sure that healthcare workers clean their hands by using an alcohol-based hand hygiene product. Coughing patients should be offered masks and should sit far away from other patients, preferably in a separate waiting area.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer a guide to infection control in an outpatient setting.
As more patients transition from hospital care to an outpatient setting, the consensus is that more inspections are needed at these facilities.
If you or a loved one has encountered a surgical center infection, contact the experienced Jacksonville surgery center infection attorneys at Farah & Farah who will offer you a consultation to discuss your options. It is important to consult with our personal injury attorneys as soon as you can because a statute of limitations may apply to your case. Call us anytime at 1-800-533-3555 to start the process.