How are Graph Neural Networks Being Used in the Fight Against Healthcare Acquired Infections?

by Erica Mitchell | March 18 2024

Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) are computer algorithms that take data from graphs and uses relationships between the data points to make predictions or recommendations. Much like our own brains, neural networks connect and correlate information to generate possible patterns that can be helpful to a variety of fields, including infection control and prevention (IP). In IP, GNNs are being used to predict risk for healthcare acquired infections (HAIs) and make decisions about resource allocation. In today's post, we'll take a closer look at how this is being done.

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Healthcare-Associated Infections: Reactive vs. Proactive Solutions

by Erica Mitchell | March 11 2024

To address the persistent issue of healthcare associated infections, hospital professionals deploy two primary approaches: reactive and proactive solutions. There are advantages and disadvantages to both options, so a combination of the two is required to cover all reasonable contingencies. In this blog post, we'll explore the differences between these two strategies and their respective impacts on patient outcomes and healthcare systems.

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Barriers to Adopting Preventive Measures: Why is it So Hard?

by Erica Mitchell | March 4 2024

There are so many psychological, sociological, and intellectual barriers to change - anyone who has tried to break a bad habit or motivate a group of people can attest to that! Choices that lead to immediate, predictable, and reliable beneficial change are much easier to make than choices that have to build up over time for the changes to be seen (I'm looking at you, daily walks!). But it turns out, the hardest changes to make are those that prevent problems. In today's post, we will explore reasons why and how this might impact infection control and prevention.
 

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Hygiene Poverty and Its Impact on Infection Control and Prevention

by Erica Mitchell | February 23 2024

Access to clean water, soap, and basic cleaning products may seem like a given in our nation, leading many of us to overlook the impact poverty can have on hygiene. In the United States alone, the statistics are staggering: 33% of low-income households report bathing without soap when they can't afford it, 32% report reusing diapers, and 74% skip doing laundry or dishes to save on supplies. It can seem that hygiene products are not as great a priority as nutrition, shelter, or clothing, but hygiene has a direct impact on health, especially for those struggling with a chronic condition or patients receiving "hospital at home" care. In this blog post, we will explore this concept of "hygiene poverty," its consequences, and the urgent need for collective action.

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QUAT Cleaners: A Critical Analysis of their Use

by Erica Mitchell | February 16 2024

Achieving and maintaining sanitized surfaces in hospitals requires an arsenal cleaning and disinfecting products, with quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs or QUATs) being a popular choice. However, as with all cleaners and disinfectants, there are both benefits and risks to their use. In today's post, we'll explore the use of quaternary ammonium compounds and some growing concerns about their impact.

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Who Makes Decisions about Infection Prevention in a Private (Non-Government Owned) Hospital?

by Erica Mitchell | January 29 2024

Hospitals are the setting for countless decisions each day, decisions that impact patient outcomes, financial investments, community health and so much more. Decisions about the prevention of healthcare associated infections take place at all levels of a hospital hierarchy, from the environmental services cleaner to the Chief Executive Officer. In today’s post, we will look at who makes these critical decisions that impact patient safety, staff well-being, and the overall resilience of a healthcare system.


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Hospital Hierarchy: Who's Who?

by Erica Mitchell | January 22 2024

Probably no other organizational entity has the human resources complexity of a hospital. Healthcare facilities bring together not just medical professions, but also administration, marketing, financial, and social work professionals. This convergence results in a complex hierarchy which is difficult to nail down, varies by the facility, and can change based on difficult-to-pinpoint scenarios. As a result, a post about the hierarchy of a hospital has to be broad, but we will attempt to lay out the general levels of responsibility by focusing on decision-making areas at private care facilities. 


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Hospital Acquired Infections and Hospitals Acquired by Private Equity: The Dangerous Correlation

by Erica Mitchell | January 8 2024

About a quarter of American hospitals are for-profit, that is, they are operated to generate profit for owners and stakeholders. A subsection of those hospitals, about 3%, have been acquired through private equity (PE) buyouts, whereby a PE firm raises funds to purchase a hospital. These PE transactions, also called "takeovers," are characteristically funded through leveraged debt - the firm takes out a loan secured by the purchased entity (the hospital), adding the burden of that debt to the balance sheet (and monthly expenses) of that facility. As a result, hospitals acquired by PE firms face additional pressures; they are operated not only to generate profit but also must repay large amounts of debt, used to fund the acquisition and now added to their balance sheet. A recent study looked into this subsection of hospitals to see how this added financial pressure impacted patient outcomes. The results? Patients are 25% more likely to be harmed by medical care at a private-equity acquired facility.

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ESG: Impact on Hospitals and Infection Control

by Erica Mitchell | December 18 2023

Over the past years, and with an uptick since COVID, the acronym "ESG" has been popping up in discussions related to investing, corporate values, and public accountability. Is a focus on "Environment, Social, and Governance" a new idea? How has the increased scrutiny affected the healthcare industry? And most specifically, how does it apply to the field of infection control and prevention?

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Cross-Functional Hospital Rooms and Infection Control: New Ideas, New Challenges

by Erica Mitchell | December 11 2023

Ever since the COVID pandemic, hospitals have become more adept at thinking outside the box, or rather, outside the patient room. For some hospitals, the pandemic meant converting waiting rooms into treatment rooms, while for others, it meant finding ways to access shared spaces without sharing germs. This experience, plus the added financial pressures faced by healthcare, is accelerating a trend for more cross-functional, multipurpose rooms in healthcare facilities. How will this trend intersect with infection control protocols? Let's try to foresee some potential benefits and risks.

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