Content Description

Infection prevention and control (IPC) has long been a top concern for health care organizations, and the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has only made the need for effective IPC practices even more critical. To help ensure that your IPC program is in top form, The Joint Commission Big Book of Tracer Questions for Infection Prevention and Control offers more than 1,000 IPC-related mock tracer questions to help guide you through assessing and strengthening all aspects of your organization’s IPC practices. Throughout the book, small icons appear that are designed to signal to the mock surveyor or reviewer if a question requires something more or different from a typical tracer question, such as observing staff, reviewing a written document, or examining a patient record or staff file. The questions in The Joint Commission Big Book of Tracer Questions for Infection Prevention and Control have been organized into sections for ease of use, starting with general questions regarding the IPC program itself and working its way through various topics important to infection prevention, such as standard precautions and best practices during construction. The various question sets can be used as written, taking a whole set or mixing and matching among sets, or modified to suit the needs of your organization. The questions are available in downloadable, individual, writeable documents and in one large searchable spreadsheet. Most tracer questions can be used across all accreditation programs/settings. You can even incorporate questions from this book into JCR\'s Tracers with AMP® by choosing the questions you want on the downloadable spreadsheet and exporting them into the software program. Key Topics Tracer questions to help you assess the following: The foundations of your organization’s Infection Prevention and Control Program—the plan it has in place and how it was developed, as well as how data about IPC efforts become part of performance improvement and quality improvement efforts Compliance with vital systemwide precautions, such as hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE), isolation practices, and so on The prevention of health care–associated infections through the assessment of risks for device-associated infections, dialysis, and surgical site infections The cleaning and disinfection of the environment; the appropriate cleaning, low-level disinfection, high-level disinfection, and sterilization of various medical tools and equipment; and water management, waste management, ventilation management, and food services equipment maintenance Emergency preparedness for such emergencies as natural disasters or infectious patient surges, including the screening of patients, safe intake of infectious or possibly infectious patients, and PPE management Infection control in relation to construction and renovation projects, from the planning stages before any construction begins to the final inspection before a newly constructed or renovated area is opened for use Various areas related to employee health, including employee health during an infectious disease outbreak, employee vaccination programs and influenza prevention efforts, and exposure control and management for staff members at risk of exposure to blood and body fluids How staff members are trained and educated on IPC practices and policies and safely during an infectious disease outbreak Key Features More than 1,000 downloadable, customizable tracer questions, categorized by topic, tagged with setting applicability, and reviewed by Joint Commission experts Compilation of all questions into a single, searchable spreadsheet (linked in the e-book) to make it easy to build your own set of tracers A downloadable mock tracer template that integrates the SAFER™ Matrix Standards: IC, EC, EM Settings: Ambulatory care, behavioral health care, critical access hospital, hospital, home care, laboratory, nursing care centers, and office-based surgery practices Key Audience Infection preventionists/infection prevention and control practitioners in all health care settings Accreditation professionals Department heads and health care providers Facility managers Environmental services staff

About Joint Commission

The mission of The Joint Commission is to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. Its vision is that all people always experience the safest, highest quality, best-value health care across all settings.