Fighting MRSA
Posted by Kim on December 26th, 2006 / Print This Post
I’m surprised to see this is happening without civil rights advocacy groups questioning the privacy of patients.
“It’s everywhere,” explained Dr. Rick Hartman, the medical center’s physician champion for the MRSA-prevention initiative. “It lives on your skin, in your mouth, in your nose. It even lives on tabletops.”Hartman said that about 10 percent of the patients who visit the medical center have MRSA colonies in their bodies, usually inside their noses. But, in most cases, there are no symptoms.
“People have it, and don’t even appear to be sick,” he said. “Most people’s body can keep it in check. When it becomes a problem is with at-risk patients — elderly patients, infants or people who are already sick and weak.”
Depending on where the bacteria decides to settle, MRSA can cause a variety of infections, some more serious than others. That’s why the national VA hospital system has made it a goal to completely eradicate the spread of the bacteria in its hospitals.
To stop the spread of MRSA and the infections it causes, Hartman said, the medical center is taking a number of steps. First, the staff has begun testing anyone who is admitted to the hospital. If someone tests positive for MRSA, they are placed in a hospital room by themselves, and doctors and staff members treating them are required to wear gloves and masks and wash their hands after coming into contact with the patient.
This is a good initiative. Let’s hope it stands up to those who might see this as a violation of privacy rights.
December 28th, 2006 at 5:03 am
Do you really think this will become a matter of civil rights? I hope not. The medical community has come under a lot of fire over infection control issues lately. It would be stupid for anyone to fight this.
December 28th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
The issue of testing patients for MRSA upon admission to a hospital has more to deal with inadequate infection control methods than protecting patients’ privacy. Not testing patients on admission allows for a legal defense of self infection, rather than a hospital acquired infection.
More to the point is why healthcare personnel are not insisting on knowing whether they are MRSA carriers or are working in a MRSA contaminated workspace. In some surveys, up to 9% of healthcare providers are now MRSA carriers. Quite apart from an ethical responsibility for patients, such carriers are a major risk for themselves, family members and other individuals within the community. No longer are sick people solely at risk for MRSA. The emerging strains are a growing menace to otherwise healthy individuals; including those participating in contact sports, young children engaging in rough and tumble playground activities, and everyone in whom there is a breach of the normal barrier function of the skin or respiratory tract.
Concerning workplace safety, it is unfair to the staff that patients and hospital environmental areas are not routinely screened for MRSA. Many infection control personnel believe they are actually prohibited from doing so by CDC and JCAHO guidelines. Certainly they are being discouraged by hospital administrators.
MRSA testing plates cost only a few dollars and should be widely employed in hospitals and other public places. Indeed, such plates could be used to spearhead a long overdue national MRSA eradication program. Unless such action is taken, it is predicted that MRSA mortality may well surpass that of AIDS. Volunteers from around the country are needed to help screen community areas for MRSA and to report results to those responsible for cleansing the areas. For additional information please refer to http://www.s3support.com or send an emial to s3support@mail.com Kind regards, W. John Martin, M.D., Ph.D. Institute of Progressive Medicine ( a non-profit public charity).