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C. diff Epidemic Likely to Get Worse from WebMD The nation's epidemic of the nasty superbug Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, will likely get worse before it gets better, says a panel of experts. Cases of the potentially dangerous diarrhea bug have now been seen in all 50 states, says L. Clifford McDonald, MD, of the CDC's Division of Healthcare Quality and Promotion. And "we haven't hit bottom yet," says Lance Peterson, MD, of the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Research Institute in Illinois. More New Paper Says Medicare Hospital-Acquired Conditions Initiative Will Spur Increased Patient Screening and Antibiotic Use from Infection Control Today Decision Resources, a leading research and advisory firm for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that the Medicare Hospital-Acquired Conditions Initiative will have a significant impact on antibiotic prescribing and infection control practices for hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). The new Physician & Payer Forum report, “Hospital Anti-Infectives: Insights on the Impact of Medicare Reforms, Formulary Inclusion, and Uptake of Novel Antibiotics and Antifungals,” finds that approximately one-third of surveyed physicians expect to increase their use of antibiotic prophylaxis to help prevent the development of HAIs. More Prevent Falls for the Elderly from ABC News While falling down is usually played for jokes on television and the Internet, for millions of older Americans it's no laughing matter. Every 18 seconds, an older adult is in the emergency room because of a fall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That translates into a person 65 or older dying, due to a fall, every 35 minutes, according to the CDC. More Copper 'Kills Hospital Superbug' from Sky News Scientists say that making door handles, taps and light switches from copper could stop the spread of the modern-day killer. Bacteria is unable to survive on the metal, so copper surfaces could succeed where other infection controls have not been as successful. More Handwashing Policies in Place but Monitoring Hand Hygiene Remains a Challenge from Infection Control Today According to a new analysis from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), 99 percent of the 103 Ontario hospitals participating in a 2008 patient safety survey reported that they had a formal hand hygiene policy in place, and just more than one-third of these (38 percent) established an auditing process to ensure that proper handwashing procedures are being followed. Hand hygiene is recognized in Canada and internationally as a top patient safety priority measure in preventing the spread of infections, and auditing is a key component in ensuring observance of hand hygiene policies. More Hard Choices and Challenges Follow Triumph from MSNBC After a victory of historic significance, Barack Obama will inherit problems of historic proportions. Not since Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated at the depths of the Great Depression in 1933 has a new president been confronted with the challenges Obama will face as he starts his presidency. More Going 'Green' May Mean Fewer Colds This Season from Market Watch One errant cough or unexpected sneeze and the workplace becomes a veritable breeding ground of illness and resulting absenteeism. As the flu season approaches, HR managers prepare to deal with the headache of decreasing productivity. The World Health Organization estimates that the cost of influenza to the U.S. economy in terms of health care costs and lost productivity can range from $71 billion to $167 billion a year. More Clue To Spread Of "Superbugs" Uncovered By OMRF Researchers from Medical News Today A discovery from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has put scientists one step closer to finding a defense against dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria, sometimes called "superbugs." More   Reduce bed turnover time Learn how Premise helped a 1,000 bed hospital reduce its bed turnover time from eight hours to 30 minutes, while cutting related phone calls from 12 to just one. More

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