What Is a Nosocomial Infection?
Infections occurring while a person is being treated in a hospital are considered nosocomial infections. Nosocomial infections are of great concern to hospitals, governments, and medical personnel alike as they can have a vast impact on the quality of healthcare provided. Infections such as Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile are common Nosocomial infections which are bolstered by increasing antibiotic resistance. Curbing the spread of nosocomial infections is critical to not only providing safe patient care, but halting the growth of superbug bacteria.
What Can Be Done?
While the prospect of antibiotic resistant superbugs seems bleak, it is not too late to make changes in your hospital to better combat the growth of such bacteria. One such way is replacing surfaces in your hospital that are prone to bacteria growth with antimicrobial surfaces. An antimicrobial surface is a surface that either naturally or artificially inhibits the growth of bacteria on its surface. A study published by the United Kingdom government found, “Antimicrobial coatings represent innovation in response to an impending healthcare challenge that is unprecedented.”
Without a doubt, some of the surfaces most prone to bacteria build up are the ones you are interacting with right now to read this article. Medical tablets, PCs, and Monitors are incredibly susceptible to bacteria growth. Devices like medical tablets can be expected to be used by multiple medical staff throughout the day, each interacting with patients throughout the day. This can lead to multiple bacteria strains occupying the screen, mouse, and keyboard of your medical devices.
Luckily, antimicrobial surfaces have found their way into the production of medical equipment, and today most medical tablets and PCs feature antimicrobial enclosures. These enclosures ensure that medical tablets can be exchanged by medical staff throughout the day without the worry of infection spread. The screens on both medical tablets and medical all-in-one PCs are also IP rated to be water resistant, allowing them to be regularly cleaned.
Antimicrobial Surfaces: The Right Choice
Whether it’s a medical tablet being passed around from nurse to nurse, or a medical all-in-one PC being used by a single doctor: making sure that your hospitals devices have antimicrobial surfaces is crucial to reducing the spread of nosocomial infections.