Is a written infection control plan necessary?

Posted on October 5, 2010 by AU Bankaitis

One common questioned I am asked when presenting on the topic of infection control is whether a written infection control plan is really necessary. The short answer to this question is “YES”!.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires facilities providing patient care services to have and maintain a written infection control plan.  The infection control plan must include six sections including employee categorization, HBV vaccination, training plan & training records, work practice controls, emergency procedures, and post-exposure evaluation & follow-up. Of these six sections, all of them may be identical from one practice or clinic to the next with the exception of the section covering work practice controls. Work practice controls are profession-specific, written procedures that outline how audiology-related procedures will be executed in a manner consistent with minimizing the potential spread of disease or cross-contamination. Since every clinic will differ in terms of breadth of services provided, the number of work practice control to be included in a written plan will depend on the number of services provided at that specific clinic. Furthermore, since executing an audiology procedure may be associated with a range of acceptable variations consistent with infection control standards, work practice controls for the same clinical procedure may differ from one clinic to the next.

About AU Bankaitis

A.U. Bankaitis, PhD is a clinical Audiologist with extensive clinical, research, and business experience within the hearing industry. Dr. Bankaitis created this blog to educate her colleagues on viable product solutions for their patients and/or clinical practice.
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9 Responses to Is a written infection control plan necessary?

  1. Rosemary Simpson says:
    January 8, 2017 at 2:44 pm

    I just read your information about the written infection control plan on an Audiology Online CE course. Clear and concise–Thanks!
    I would love to have a copy of the template. It is still available via email?
    If so, I would appreciate your emailing me.
    Thanks again!

  2. Mary Ricketts says:
    October 15, 2013 at 2:20 pm

    Thank you for your presentation on infection control in the Quad Cities last Saturday. You had mentioned you have an Infection Control Template we could get from you. How do we do this?

  3. S. Grant Williams, HAS, HIS, ACA says:
    July 26, 2012 at 4:25 am

    TO “LADY AU”: You presented one of the BEST Infection Control Presentations I have ever attended in the twenty + years I’ve been working in the Hearing Health Care field. Thank you for all that you know and share with others. I was one of the many present in the “standing room only” conference room during the Florida Society of Hearing Health Care Professionals – Royal Caribe Hotel & Resort, Friday July 13, 2012. S. Grant Williams, HAS, HIS, ACA EarCare Associates / Florida. Grant@EarCareAssociates.com

  4. Infection Control Products says:
    June 1, 2011 at 11:57 am

    Nice blog! We must remember the significance of proper infection control!

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