Injection Safety Patient Notification Communication Toolkit

• Main Author: Panasuk, Brian J
• Format: Others
• Published: Digital Archive @ GSU 2010
• Subjects: injection safety; health communication; patient notification; toolkit; Public Health
• Online Access: http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/iph_theses/132; http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1133&context=iph_theses

Unsafe injection practices put patients and healthcare providers at risk of infectious disease and have been associated with a wide variety of procedures and settings. Safe Injection Practices are part of Standard Precautions and are aimed at maintaining basic levels of patient safety and provider protections. However, from 1999 - 2009, more than 30 outbreaks of Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C from unsafe injection practices have occurred resulting in more than 150,000 patients being notified of potential exposure. Breaches in injection safety have the potential to be high profile and sensitive, and although individual incidents may vary, the actions that follow are consistent and predictable. Therefore, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP), I have compiled resources and templates to assist state and local health departments and individual healthcare facilities in their efforts to effectively communicate with the public and media about these incidents. Once the decision to notify patients has been made, this toolkit will serve as a guide to help the intended users through the notification process. Its purpose will be to help organizations notify patients, establish communication resources to support patient notifications, plan media and communication strategies, and plan the release of notification letters and other media. This toolkit will suggest practical ways to achieve effective communication using a stepwise approach. Resources and example materials are provided in this toolkit to facilitate the implementation of some essential tips and strategies. Once finalized and cleared by the CDC, this toolkit will be available to users through the CDC’s Injection Safety homepage.