Dennis Cardo, MD
Director of Medical Quality Promotion Division
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Consistent with past catalytic properties ten years The conference, an international conference held every 10 years, aims to develop a research agenda for the prevention of health care-related infections (HAI). I will share my knowledge of what we have learned and my views on what is needed to protect lives from infectious diseases The threat of the next decade.
Patients and healthcare providers have begun to accept that it is Stop accepting HAI as an inevitable part of careTherefore, the field focuses on several key pillars, including:
- Use data to drive action.
- Participate in research to innovate plans and practices to improve care and response time.
- Develop policies to ensure that proven practices are implemented.
These pillars continue to be critical to our progress, but more is needed.
The COVID-19 response highlights the known gaps in the healthcare delivery system that the field has found in addressing HAI and antibiotic resistance (AR) in healthcare. The public health infrastructure in the United States is fragmented, and it is important that public health and healthcare experts continue to work together to make the greatest impact.
In addition, it is clear that infection control and prevention in all medical institutions is one of the most important strategies to protect lives. However, it is not enough. We also need options for timely diagnosis and management of infections, including infections caused by antibiotic-resistant organisms and their complications such as sepsis. The COVID-19 response also reiterated existing differences in health equity and access that need to be addressed in order to provide everyone with access to safe medical care.
Finally, the threat of infectious diseases in one place can quickly become a global problem. In order to slow the spread of infections in the healthcare environment, actions around the world need to be taken to strengthen the entire healthcare system so that regardless of the threat, there is a resilient system ready to address and stop the next threat.
In order to be prepared, we need practices, plans and policies to support:
- Use data and techniques that allow rapid detection of infection, even if only one case is detected.
- Pay more attention to infection control and prevention in the healthcare environment.
- Improve the use of antibiotics wherever antibiotics are used, and invest in alternative therapies such as vaccines
- Innovation drives the development of new tools and strategies to detect, contain and prevent emerging and persistent threats, such as antibiotic resistance.
- Partnerships between public health organizations, healthcare entities, and patients and families.
- Cooperation between countries.
Although many of our challenges existed before the COVID-19 pandemic, now is the time to address them. We are motivated; we have a knowledge base; we are at a turning point with an incredible opportunity to make major, lasting changes in order to better prepare to protect patients and healthcare workers from existing and emerging infections.
2020, 6day Decennial was cancelled due to the COVID-19 response, however, many conferences were announced in virtual form. These courses are free and available on demand until December 31, 2021.I hope you can Learn from the experts with me We work together to realize the CDC’s vision of protecting patients and healthcare workers while improving the quality of healthcare across the world today and in the next decade.
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