I receive at least a couple of inquiries per week from audiology colleagues, asking how to “clean” something before re-using it in the clinic. These are appropriate and relevant questions as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires facilities providing patient care to not only have a written infection control plan, but to include written protocols as to how procedures will be performed for the specific purposes of minimizing cross-contamination. These protocols are referred to as work practice controls.
To assist in creating or updating your own clinic’s infection control plan, sample protocols have been created for the the most common tools used in the audiology clinic. The dozen or so sample work practice controls are available through the Infection Control Resource page of the Oaktree Products website. Simply click Sample Work Practice Controls and select the clinical item or tool of interest. A quick rationale based on infection control principles and guidelines is provided, followed by bullet points outlining a sample work practice control. For more information, check out Additional Resources in the form of AudiologyOnline free-to-view webinars and infection control books and brochures.
