With Pediatrics reporting 10 times more MRSA cases in children in 2008 than in 1999, controlling infectious diseases in healthcare facilities is at the top of mind. Compounding the issue, healthcare IT – with shared resources like keyboards and mice – offer a completely new way for disease to travel surreptitiously around a hospital. For example, the University of Arizona reports that keyboards can have as much as 400 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. On the back of an envelope, multiply the number of people who touch any single keyboard by the number of keyboards in your facility and you can quickly get a sense of how big this problem can be.

Fortunately, hospitals are doing a better job at keeping things clean than you might expect, with most MRSA infections for example, being caught outside of the hospital. From new technologies to better processes, healthcare organizations are implementing high impact infection control solutions with little to no cost to the organization and no negative impact to work flow. Some key items to keep in mind include:

• If you build it right, they will not come: Manufacturers and IT vendors such as Seal Shield are delivering products with disease control in mind. By offering common technology items created with antimicrobial plastic that inhibits bacteria growth, they can minimize the dangerous bacteria that reside on key equipment. Not only will washable and antimicrobial devices reduce the likelihood of infection transmission, they are economically competitive with non-washable alternatives similarly priced. Same functionality, same connections, significantly less risk.

• Hardware, software, wash-and-ware: Manufacturers are also increasingly offering peripherals that can handle repeated cleaning or that are dishwasher-safe. These devices can be easily disinfected with sprays, wipes, submersion, or a dishwasher. Rather than create an entire set of new processes to manage the technology, these options enable facilities to keep their old cleaning workflows, but adapt the components for the rigors of constant cleaning.

• Work smarter, not harder: In addition, healthcare organizations are redefining their workflow to minimize chances for the spread of disease using technology. A crucial component to establishing successful infection control programs is to ensure these processes are executed - even on technology items. It is not enough to have an infection control process in place. Many healthcare organizations believe disinfecting and infection control are housekeeping issues but many cleaning teams stay away from technology in fear of breaking or ruining something. Establishing infection control processes and assigning people to be responsible for them will reduce infection transmission.

Certainly better materials and better processes can dramatically reduce the increase of infections due to IT, but it is absolutely critical that any infection control program be part of an enterprise-wide effort. It is not possible to have an infection control system for just technology any more than it is possible to successfully manage the threat of infectious disease while ignoring the changes in how staff relies on IT.