Transmission Control

On this episode of Transmission Control, we tackle the topics of design & improvements to medical devices and the guidelines and standards which guide them. Christian Berling joins Dr. Larry Muscarella and Justin Poulin to share his experience dating back over a decade regarding the research & development of reusable laryngoscopes, and discuss variations in the standards of care from one manufactu...

Have we lost our patient focus when it comes to regulating and evaluating hospital performance?  Has this resulted in a cost shift away from patient care?  Could all these agencies come together and create a single unified system for surveillance and surveys?  Dr. Salah Qutaishat joins Dr. Larry Muscarella and Justin Poulin to discuss his thoughts on aligning regulatory guidelines and hospital sur...

Have you ever thought about the purpose of the white paper that pulls down over the exam table when you visit your primary care physician's office?  Do gloves give the general public and healthcare practitioners a false sense of security?  How do we ensure that cleaning and disinfection processes have been done correctly in Primary Care offices?  Jim Gauthier joins Dr. Larry Muscarella and Justin...

Hospital beds and mattresses are the highest touch surfaces in healthcare facilities around the world.  This represents a significant opportunity for the transmission and cross infection of dangerous bacterium such as C. diff.  Not only the mattress, but the beds and frames themselves.  On this episode of Transmission Control, we asked Bruce Rippe, CEO at Trinity Guardion to join Dr. Larry Muscare...

Can carpet be just as safe and possibly more effectively cleaned than vinyl floors in the healthcare setting? In the acute care setting, healthcare professionals are very familiar with vinyl floors and assume that they are easier and more effectively cleaned.  However, in long term care facilities there are additional considerations such making the environment have a warmer feel and home-like. On...

Are your hospital scrubs actually clean? What does that process even look like at your facility? Are they laundered onsite? Offsite? Or even washed at home?  If your hospital or another 3 rd party launders them for you, how can you be certain that you get your uniform back?  On this week's episode of Transmission Control, Aniruddha Banerjee, Director & Global Head of Healthcare at Lindström joins...

Why should hospitals take a dynamic approach toward technology supporting the infection prevention and control efforts of environmental services?  Tune in to this week's episode of the Transmission Control podcast and find out!  Often times, hospital procedures are in direct conflict with the desired outcomes for patients.  Marc-Oliver Wright joins Justin Poulin and Dr. Larry Muscarella to talk ab...

The pandemic not only required more Infection Prevention & Control professionals to manage the urgent call for support, but it also expedited retirement plans for many nurses who were in the high risk age group.  Hospitals now find themselves struggling to fill existing positions as they attempt to expand their Infection Prevention and Control teams.  On this week's episode of Transmission Control...

Environmental Services touches every surface of the hospital, but do we always recognize how integral they are to the infection control team?  Additionally, EVS workers have direct patient contact but have you considered how much influence they have on the patient experience?  Did you know that the patient care experience has a direct impact on the healthcare organizations finances?  Darrel Hicks...

There is no doubt that Long Term Care facilities were hit hard during the pandemic.  In many cases, these facilities do not have a dedicated infection control practitioner on staff which represented a significant gap in preparedness planning and exacerbated the struggles of reacting quickly and effectively to the viral threat.  On this week's episode of Transmission Control, Buffy   Lloyd-Krejci j...

You may be familiar with biofilm but what do you know about small colony variants -- and the impact that they have on infection control and public health?  All living organisms have a universal prime directive, which is to survive. What does that mean for those of us whose prime directive is to protect our patients against infectious agents? On this week's episode of Transmission Control, we talk...

Within the world of GI endoscope reprocessing there exists a debate on whether or not sterile water should be used during procedures versus tap water.  Running parallel to that debate is whether the industry should move to the sterilization of flexible scopes, continue with high level disinfection (HLD), or consider conversion to single use disposable endoscopes that have recently entered the mark...

Endoscope drying times and the use of an alcohol rinse has become an area for debate and emerging research is increasing with each passing day.  Advanced inspection technology such as borescopes and the development of ATP testing offer additional measures to evaluate the effectiveness of cleaning the small diameter working channels of flexible scopes.  On this episode of Transmission Control, Nanc...

Given the rising concerns of endoscope-related infections around the country, organizations, agencies, and providers believed it was imperative to evaluate the current literature and standards for endoscope reprocessing. Joining us for this week's episode of Transmission Control, Dr. Raman Muthusamy joins Dr. Lawrence Muscarella and Justin Poulin to discuss the critical updates made to the Multiso...

Did you know there was database that concealed millions of medical device malfunction and injury reports from public view?  Neither did anyone else until Christina Jewett, Senior Correspondent with Kaiser Health News broke the story in the spring of 2019. On this inaugural episode of the Transmission Control podcast focused on public health themes from around the globe, Christina joins Dr. Lawrenc...