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7 Ways Poor Infection Control Can Endanger Your Practice

7 Ways Poor Infection Control Can Endanger Your Practice
by Robert Elsenpeter

Poor infection control actions in the dental office can affect your reputation and bottom line.

It should go without saying that infection control is an important part of any dental practice. The health and welfare of your patients—and you and your team—is the most prominent issue, but there are other consequences that can stem from poor infection control practices. Here are seven repercussions that could occur as a result of poor infection control procedures.

Harm

The first, most obvious impact is that someone could get injured. That could occur either through not following established protocols or a simple accident.

“Someone could be hurt. They could have an injury if they’re not using sharps safely, for instance, and having to go through post-exposure management,” says Kathy Eklund, RDH, director of occupational health and safety at The Forsyth Institute. “It is not only tied to noncompliance, but it can also be accidental injuries as well.”

Proper practices involve formalized procedures, consistent with the guidelines and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as following the directions and instructions of use for all products and devices.

“Not following the manufacturer’s directions and instructions for use, including reprocessing, can cause damage to devices such as handpieces. Other considerations include personnel wearing appropriate PPE and performing hand hygiene to prevent exposure to contamination,” Eklund says.

Reputation

Word gets around. Positive opinions help your practice, but, obviously, negative opinions can do quite a bit of damage. Worst of all, the practice may be blindsided by the occurrence.

“We all want to be known for doing the right thing,” says Karen Daw, an infection control consultant and former clinic health and safety director for The Ohio State University College of Dentistry. “In dentistry, this could mean providing quality care in a safe environment. If unsafe practices are occurring, some employees and patients may not feel comfortable bringing this to the attention of management directly.”

In this day and age, word travels quickly.

“They could very well share their impressions of your business with friends and family, sometimes via social media, an online review or even the nightly news,” Daw says. “And it’s happened. The dental office can be destroyed via the power of broadcast and social media. And if doing the right thing isn’t reason enough, think of how this impacts your bottom line. The last thing you want is to make a name in the industry for being an unsafe dental office to work in or visit. When the patients stop coming, there goes the revenue stream.”

Read full article on Dental Products Report.