eBulletin June 2006 Edition 21
In this Edition:
Reminders:
! Type 2 Data Submission:
Quarter 1 Reports were released on Friday, 16th June 2006. The deadline for data to be forwarded to the
VICNISS Coordinating Centre for Quarter 2, 2006 is Monday, 31st July 2006.
The corresponding report is then due to be posted mid-September 2006.
! Type 1 Data Submission:
Quarter 1 Reports were released on Friday, 16th June 2006. The deadline for data to be forwarded to the
VICNISS Coordinating Centre for Quarter 2, 2006 is Friday, 4th August 2006.
The corresponding report is then due to be posted mid-September 2006.
Key Dates: For more information on deadlines and dates, please
click here
(Opens in new window).
Breaking News...Type 1 Software Update
June: As many of you will be aware, over the past 10 months, staff at the VICNISS Coordinating Centre (VCC)
have been negotiating with the Repatriation General Hospital to purchase the licence for the Infection Control
Enterprise – ICE - software (infection surveillance software, see
www.repat.com.au/ice/)
for use in Type 1 hospitals. Final negotiations have now been completed, and we are pleased to announce
the contract has been just been signed.
Clearly this is a major undertaking for the VCC and all participating hospitals. The contract enables
the original software to be modified and developed further to meet VICNISS specifications. These specifications
were drawn up and approved by a DHS working party with representation from Type 1 Infection Control staff,
hospital IT officers, DHS, and VCC in 2004. Many of the modifications are related to reports.
There are two major advantages of the software. Firstly, the software is designed to retrieve data
from existing hospital information systems, largely eliminating the need for manual data input (some manual
input will be required regarding some SSI details). Secondly, hospitals will be able to write their own
reports, and will no longer be reliant on the VCC to generate reports and make comparisons with the aggregate.
The first stage of implementation following enhancements will be to pilot the new software later
this year at two sites. A focus group will be formed to provide input on the ‘look’ and
user friendliness of the software.
This is a very exciting phase of VICNISS surveillance. The VCC is indebted to all the hard working
infection control staff who put in many hours for data collection and management. With the development
and implementation of the new software, we hope to alleviate much of the burden of data collection,
and enable you to spend more time on preventative activities.
We will provide you with more information in future special editions of the eBulletin.
Type 1 Hospital Level Data Reports
(for participating hospitals only)
June 2006: The Type 1 Hospital Level De-identified Data Report for Quarter 1, 2006 is now available on your
participating hospital home page accessed from the Type 1
Reports login page. Also, please note that errors in the Quarter 4, 2005 Report have now been corrected and
can be accessed in the same area.
VICNISS Annual Report
The Year 4 Annual Report has been completed and is presently with the printers. As we have in the past,
to acknowledge the hard work of the Infection Control teams and other stakeholders, we will release the
report at an evening function. As soon as we have finalised the venue and date we will let you know.
2006 Inaugural Infection Control Study Tour
Claire Boardman
From the 6th - 17th June I was fortunate to participate in the inaugural BD/ICP US Study Tour for key opinion
leaders in Infection Control which included visits to the CDC, local hospitals and attendance at the 2006 APIC
Conference held in Tampa, Florida.
The trip emphasised to me that we don't do things so badly here in Australia and in some respects we are
leading the way in Infection Prevention and Control initiatives and research. While the APIC conference was
full of contemporary information I personally got the most out of the Emory hospital visit and the trip to
CDC to hear more about the NHSN programs, in particular the Occupational Exposure program. It was also
beneficial to hear about the future directions of NHSN (formerly NNIS) and how closely aligned the VICNISS
program is with this revised system of HAI surveillance. During the APIC conference Teresa Horan, Director
NHSN program was honoured with the Carol DeMille Achievement Award for her significant contribution to
surveillance in the US and her inspiration to infection control professionals around the world to strive
for better monitoring, prevention and management of healthcare associated infections.
The opportunity to meet the APIC board in person during the APIC conference, at a welcome reception for
the Australian contingent was also invaluable and I thank Cath Murphy and Sue Resnik for facilitating this
liaison with key APIC leaders. Overall there was ample opportunity to explore future partnerships, infection
prevention strategies, possible conference content, industry consultation and support, and, how to get local
champions mobilised to implement some of the initiatives reflected in the APIC conference content.
Sincere thanks to BD for this 'once in a career' opportunity. Based on feedback from the group it is hoped
that other Infection Control Consultants will benefit from similar ventures in the future.
Type 2 Surveillance Update
Just a few notes ……….
- On the monthly data collection forms (Appendix 7.3 in the Type 2 Surveillance Manual - Version 9) please tick 'Yes' or
'No' for ‘Module completed’. If applicable, please then tick 'Yes' or 'No' for ‘Events/Infections detected’.
- In the Peripheral Venous Cather Use module, upper limb refers to the arm/hand and lower limb the leg/foot.
- After consultation with RICPRAC, as from the next report we are hoping that occupational exposures will also be reported
in relation to ‘health care worker categorisation’ and ‘location of where the exposure occurred’.
- For the Surgical Infection Report module, the numbers include all in-house and inherited deep incisional or organ space
surgical site infections.
Farewell to Deb Friedman!
This month we farewell Dr Deb Friedman who is leaving to return to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina with her
husband Aaron and 3 children for a couple of years.
Deb has been a valuable asset to VICNISS Coordinating Centre over the past four years and will be greatly missed.
She has been pivotal in the success of VICNISS, and has undertaken several major projects including the evaluation of
the NNIS risk index, the validation of VICNISS data in CABGS, and with the Australian Society for Cardiothoracic
Surgeons, undertaken a review of SSI risk factors in patient following CABGS. Results of these activities are due
to be released shortly.
We wish Deb well in her endeavours in the future, and thank her for her input to VICNISS.
Infection Control Literature Review, June 2006
Our most recent literature review, for June, compiled by Dr
Deb Friedman, VICNISS Infectious Diseases Physician, discusses current research on the following selected topics:
- Pertussis in Healthcare Facilities
- Contamination of Healthcare Equipment
- Procedure Duration as a Risk Factor for SSI
- Orthopaedic Surgeons Beware of Conjunctival Contamination
- Surgical Antiseptics and the Risk of Operating Room Fires
