eBulletin August 2004 Edition 10
In this Edition:
Reminders:
! Type 2 Data Submission:
The reporting period for the first Type 2 report will be from May/June/July to September 2004.
(Note: The commencement dates for this reporting period vary between regions). The deadline for data to
be forwarded to the VICNISS Coordinating Centre that is to be included in this report is therefore
31st October 2004
! Type 1 Data Submission:
The submission deadline for Quarter 2, Year 2 data was 6th August 2004.
Could all participants who have not yet submitted all data for this period please do so ASAP. Reports
are expected to be available by approximately 17th September 2004.
Key Dates 2004-05: For more information on deadlines and dates, please click here
(link no longer available) for Key Dates 2004-05.
Recent Development with VICNISS and Software
There has been an important development in relation to the future of VICNISS (and consequently software), which we would like to share with you.
As you already know, we have been working with the Office of Chief Clinical Advisor (OCCA), Department of Human Services (DHS) towards commencing
development of new surveillance software. At the same time, as the end of our contract to run the VICNISS Coordinating Centre approaches (February 2005),
we have commenced planning for VICNISS Surveillance beyond 2005.
We have recently been informed by OCCA that a decision has been made to open up the VICNISS Hospital Acquired Infection Surveillance System for
competitive tender for surveillance beyond February 2005. The new tender will include the development of software, and will be advertised in the near
future.
What this means for participating hospitals?
In the short term, there will not be any changes to current VICNISS surveillance activities. However, in the long term, this development means that
future surveillance activities will be assisted by new software, clearly a major advantage to all participating hospitals.
What this means for us?
We will continue to run the Coordinating Centre for the VICNISS Hospital Acquired Infection Surveillance System, and are keen to remain doing so
beyond 2005. We will continue to support participating hospitals, collect data and provide reports quarterly as usual. We have several other activities
planned for the rest of this year including VICNISS User Groups, Workshops and hospital visits. More details on these and other activities will be in
upcoming editions of the eBulletin.
We to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude for the patience demonstrated by participating hospitals, especially the Infection Control
Consultants and their teams, whilst we have been seeking a solution to the software issue.
Website
The VICNISS website at www.vicniss.org.au been updated extensively. The new site includes fact sheets for
patients, separate resources areas for Type 1 and Type 2 participants, new and improved information detailing VICNISS, and a glossary. Also, in the
near future, we will be posting aggregated data on the website which will be accessible by any visitors to the website. Detailed explanation of the
data is also provided. Another useful feature is a contacts page where all VICNISS participating hospitals are listed, together with phone numbers of
the Infection Control Coordinators, as well as the ability to send an email. This page was created after feedback indicated that some were not
always aware which Infection Control Consultant worked where etc. We hope it forms the basis of many useful contacts. Please take your time to v
isit the site, and contact us if you experience any problems or have any suggestions as to how it could be improved.
Online Interactive Education - New Modules
Primarily developed for Type 2 Surveillance participants, the online interactive education package, is now open to all VICNISS participants
at www.vicniss.info (link no longer available -- For new education area, click here).
The purpose of this site is to provide an alternative educational resource for health
professionals involved in infection surveillance. It is one of many educational strategies designed by VICNISS.
| Current modules on offer include: |
Future modules currently under development are: |
- Surveillance
- Multi Resistant organisms
- Measles
- Antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery (NEW available next week)
- Influenza (NEW available next week)
|
- Hepatitis B
- Chickenpox
- IV Line-associated BSIs
|
Type 2 Surveillance Update
We are currently organising 'User Group' meetings for each of the rural regions. The aim of these meetings will be for 'Type 2 Infection Control
Consultants to review their data surveillance programs and discuss any issues. In addition Dr Ann Bull will give a brief presentation on how to
interpret VICNISS reports. These meetings will be held between late September and mid November. More details will be posted in the near future.
Data collection for the VICNISS Data Quality Study has commenced in the Barwon South West region. The aim of this study is to assess the accuracy
of reporting events (usually infections) by participants in the Type 2 pilot stage. Medical records are to be cross checked with events previously
reported to VICNISS.
Type 2 Performance Indicators
At the recent VICNISS Advisory Committee meeting, it was agreed that the Performance Indicators (PIs) for hospitals participating in Type 2
Surveillance be called 'interim' PIs until further evaluation of the Type 2 activities are performed. If you would like to view the PIs,
click here (link no longer available -- For the current PIs,
click here).
Type 1 Surveillance Education Workshop to be Repeated
A reports workshop was held on 21st July with very positive feedback. Content covered included "p values" and "confidence intervals" as well as
"interpretation of reports". Participant feedback indicated they felt the workshop was of great value. A second workshop covering the same
content is now planned. Details are as follows:
| DATE: | October 2004 (day TBA next week) |
| TIME: | 1.00pm lunch (provided) for 1.30 start (Finish approximately 4.00pm, dependant on numbers |
| VENUE: | VICNISS, 10 Wreckyn Street, North Melbourne (VIDRL Building)
(click here for a Map, PDF File
 88kb, opens in new window) |
As the planning of the day will be dependent on numbers attending, could you please RSVP to
Jane Motley by the 7th of October, 2004.
Type 1 User Group
The next Type 1 User Group details are below: An email will be sent when specific venue details confirmed.
| DATE: | Wednesday, 15th September 2004 |
| TIME: | 2.30 - 4.00pm |
| VENUE: | St Vincent’s Hospital
11th floor conference room, Inpatient Services building
Map and location details
(PDF File 
91kb, opens in new window) |
VICNISS is also in the process of organising the first Tpe 2 User Group forums, to be held regionally. Further details will be posted on our website
when forums finalised. See
Type 2 Update above.
Type 1 Satisfaction Survey Results 2004
Thank you to all the Type 1 surveillance participants who returned the VICNISS Satisfaction Survey. For a summary of the results,
click here
(PDF File 223kb, opens in new window). Your feedback has been very useful.
From the results, it is clear that there are a few areas regarding the Reports that we can improve on. In particular, the turn around time and the
interpretation of the reports. We appreciate your patience when it comes to the turnaround time, and are very mindful that we need to post the
reports as quickly as possible. Factors effecting this include the timely submission of data from participating hospitals, the quality of the data
submitted, and then the usual cleaning, analysing and writing. We are exploring a number of strategies that will help improve this area.
There was also a suggestion that reports be provided more regularly, and graphs also be provided. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources
available to provide individualised graphs for all hospitals. Once software is developed, hospitals will be able to create their own graphs. In the meantime
however we will continue to provide the MS Excel spreadsheets so those who are familiar with charts in MS Excel will be able to create their own graphs.
Also, it has become apparent to us through the survey and also at a recent workshop that not everybody is able to interpret the data within the reports.
Therefore we will be conducting another workshop on the interpretation of reports. Details of the workshop are listed
below.
Overall, we are very happy with the responses to the survey. As always, we appreciate your feedback, and will endeavour to improve our own performance.
New Appointments to VICNISS Advisory Committee
We welcome the addition of Dr Kim Hills, Executive Director, Bayside Health, who was recently appointed on to the VAC. Dr Hill represents the Victorian
Healthcare Association, and replaces Dr George Shaw, who represented the Health Services Administrators, resigning last year.
Technical Advisory Group Discussion
This is a summary of the meeting of the Technical Advisory Group meeting held on Wednesday 11th of August.
HPRO Reports - It was agreed by the group that separate reports for partial and total HPRO (hip arthroplasty) were not warranted,
and that VICNISS will provide a combined partial and total HPRO (i.e. all hip arthroplasty) report to hospitals undertaking surveillance on HPRO. VICNISS
Will also explore reporting on deep, superficial and organ space data for HPRO, as well as data on causative organisms.
Post Discharge Surveillance - This topic generated much discussion on the underestimate of the true infection rate in the absence
of post discharge surveillance, the lack of uniformity and the intense resources required to undertake post discharge surveillance. This also extended
to the influence of hospital in the home programs in participating hospitals. It was agreed that a focus group be established for hospitals undertaking
C-Section surveillance to explore the issue of post discharge surveillance, and similar group be set up for hospitals performing CAGS to examine the
role of hospital in the home programs.
Surveillance Activities Beyond 2005 - A number of areas were identified from the group for future potential surveillance activities,
including - surveillance in long term care facilities and blood stream infections in haemodialysis patient.
Turnaround Time for Reports - Unfortunately only a very limited time was left to discuss Reports. A repeat of the Workshop on
Interpretation of the Reports is to be conducted on Thursday 21st of October, for more details,
click here.
If you would would like to provide us with any further comments on any of the above issues, please contact us via email or phone.
Infection Control Literature Review, July 2004
Our most recent
literature review, compiled by Dr Deb Friedman, VICNISS ID Physician discusses current
research on the following selected topics:
- Short-Course Rifampicin and Pyrazinamide Compared with Isoniazid for Latent Tuberculosis Infection
- Nosocomial Pneumonia in ICU
- Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcus in Blood Cultures - True BSI or Contaminant?
- The Role of the Intestinal Tract as a Reservoir and Source for Transmission of Nosocomial Pathogens
