APIC conference to focus on patient safety and 'Targeting Zero' initiatives to reduce HAIs

Medical errors expert to give keynote address

Washington, DC, May 9, 2008 – More than 4,000 infection prevention and control professionals from around the world are expected to convene at a five-day conference next month to discuss many of the major issues facing their profession today.

Strategies for infection prevention, best practices, the changing legal landscape of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and emerging multidrug-resistant bacteria are among the topics that will be covered at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC’s) 35th Annual Educational Conference and International Meeting, June 15-19 in Denver, CO. The meeting is the largest annual gathering of infection prevention and control professionals from around the world.

Noted patient safety expert and author of Internal Bleeding: The Truth Behind America’s Terrifying Epidemic of Medical Mistakes, Robert M. Wachter, MD, Professor and Associate Chairman of the Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, will deliver APIC’s keynote address. In his presentation, “What Can Infection Control and Patient Safety Learn from Each Other?,” Wachter will reflect on the integration of infection prevention into patient safety and discuss how the field of infection prevention and control can teach vital lessons to individuals and organizations striving to decrease medical errors.

Also featured will be APIC’s “Targeting Zero” campaign, a series of new educational initiatives promoting best practices and elimination strategies for Clostridium difficile-associated disease and infections that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are planning for reduced reimbursement should these infections occur during a hospital stay. Results of a recent survey of APIC members on the “Pace of Progress” of adoption of interventions to prevent MRSA will also be presented.

Additional highlights of the more than 75 topics on the week’s agenda include:

• “Treatment of MRSA Infections and Role for Decolonization,” Chip Chambers, MD, Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California, San Francisco, CA

• “MDR/XDR Tuberculosis,” Robert Belknap, Denver Public Health Department, Denver, CO

• “Surgical Center Hepatitis C Outbreak: Use of Unsafe Injection Practices,” Brian Labus, MPH, Senior Epidemiologist, Southern Nevada Health District, Las Vegas, NV

• “CMS’s Value-Based Purchasing Activities,” Mark A. Levine, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Denver Region, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

• “The Changing Epidemiology of Clostridium difficile,” L. Clifford McDonald, MD, Medical Epidemiologist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

• “Collaboration with Public Health Partners – The Fight Against MRSA,” Bonnie M. Barnard, MPH, CIC, Surveillance Epidemiologist, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Helena, MT

“We are pleased to host such an esteemed group of experts at this year’s Annual Conference,” said APIC’s 2008 President Janet E. Frain, RN, CIC, CPHQ, CPHRM, Director, Integrated Services, Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento, CA. “Our members will benefit from this learning experience and be better positioned to lead performance improvement initiatives that will reduce the risk of HAIs and save lives.”

Please visit www.apic.org for further information.

APIC’s mission is to improve health and patient safety by reducing risks of infection and other adverse outcomes. The Association’s nearly 12,000 members have primary responsibility for infection prevention, control and hospital epidemiology in healthcare settings around the globe. APIC advances its mission through education, research, collaboration, practice guidance, public policy, and credentialing. Visit APIC online at www.apic.org.