Molecular diagnostics and active screening for health care-associated infections: Stepping-up the game

Abstract

Health care-associated infections (HAI) place a significant burden up the health care system. Studies have shown that routine screening of patients prior to or at the point of admission along with appropriate control strategies can significantly reduce HAI rates. The solution requires clinical laboratories to provide rapid, accurate, and precise results for analytes that comprise a screening program. It is through a concerted and collaborative effort between the clinical laboratories, the hospital infectious disease control officers, and the in vitro diagnostics manufacturers that significant downturns in HAI rates can be achieved. © 2011 by The American Society for Clinical Pathology.