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Researchers Use Novel Method To Identify Risk of Infections in Ambulatory Surgery Centers

A risk-assessment system designed to avoid harms in private industry was used by AHRQ-funded researchers to identify practices likely to pose infection risks in ambulatory surgery centers. The risk-assessment methodology, known as the Socio-Technical Probabilistic Risk Assessment (ST-PRA), identified factors that contributed to risk of surgical site infections. Researchers applying the ST-PRA identified a group of five factors that accounted for nearly 52 percent of all issues that led directly to surgical site infections. Using the methodology, researchers recommended safeguards to avoid infections and identified infection risks by reviewing data from evidence-based literature (including AHRQ’s State Ambulatory Surgery, Nationwide Inpatient Sample, and State Emergency Department databases for three states) and interviews with health care providers. The study was published in the Journal of Patient Safety. Access the abstract.