Survey Finds Wide IPC Policy Variation Across Home Healthcare Agencies

A new survey of Medicare-certified home healthcare (HHC) agencies “reveals minor improvements and problematic declines in infection prevention and control (IPC) staff training, less frequent IPC policy reviews, and fewer agencies with intensive policies for antibiotic stewardship, intravenous (IV) and central catheter infections, and pneumonia since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.” CIDRAP has the news.

The study authors wrote that “HHC patients face infection risk due to chronic conditions, wounds, medical devices, and a less controlled home environment.” The survey “found wide IPC policy variation, with deficiencies worsening during the pandemic because of personal protection equipment shortages and insufficient IPC training.”

1,052 surveys were completed, and 171 agencies completed surveys in both 2019 and 2023. Fewer IPC staff “lacked training in 2023 than in 2019,” and “hospital-provided training rose,” but “IPC training for all staff dropped in 2023, with fewer agencies offering it during employee orientation and a shift toward virtual rather than in-person education.” Declines in “policy intensity were noted in three of the four domains” surveyed.

The IPC training decline “may indicate a shift in focus to vaccination surveillance.” The researchers also said that “significant declines in antibiotic stewardship, intravenous and central catheter infection, and pneumonia prevention policies raise concerns about increased infection risks for vulnerable HHC patients.”