MRSA

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Group:

Our hospital outpatient Rehab department is dealing with an issue in regards to

patients that have MRSA in their past history. I would like to see how other

departments handle this.

When our front office registers the patient, our registration system pops up a

notice of positive for MRSA. This only happens if the patient is already listed

in the registration system. We call the patient to inform them of this. The

majority of these patients are unaware of this or thought the doctor had taken

care of it. They become unhappy with us that we are informing them of this plus

unhappy with the MD that they did not inform the patient of this. This results

in a patient and referral source satisfaction issue with us.

We also inform them of what it takes to have this removed from the system (2

negative tests) and what will be required while in our department. We ask them

to wear a mask while they are in the waiting room or gym area and wipe off the

equipment immediately following use. If they refuse to wear a mask or will be

treated in a booth, we treat them as contact isolation. The booth is then

cleaned prior to use by any other patient.

Do any other facilities require anything similar to this? If so, how are you

handling these issues? If not, are you concerned you could be spreading MRSA?

Trevor Huffman P.T., M.S., S.C.S., A.T.,C.

Passavant Area Hospital

ville, IL 62650

trevor.huffman@...