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Sharing the dental community’s goal of delivering a Safest Dental Visit and understanding the current CDC Guidelines is critical to providing excellent dental care. In this month’s Efficiency in Group Practice, the Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) describes its newly updated guide to understanding the
In September 2015, OSAP, the organization dedicated to dental infection control and patient safety, introduced the Safest Dental Visit™, an initiative designed to promote an increased commitment to infection control and safety. Clinicians, educators, speakers and consultants, product manufacturers and distributors, and others are collaborating to help ensure that every patient visit is the safest one. The CDC guidelines are the foundation for the Safest Dental Visit.
In September 2016, OSAP released an updated From Policy to Practice: OSAP’s Guide to the CDC Guidelines. This comprehensive workbook has been updated to reflect the recommendations from the CDC Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings – 2003 and the 2016 Summary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settings: Basic Expectations for Safe Care.
From Policy to Practice: OSAP’s Guide to the CDC Guidelines reaffirms the importance of having a comprehensive infection control program that includes an infection control coordinator and CDC resources for developing, managing and evaluating a site-specific infection control program. The workbook walks users through the CDC Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings – 2003 and the 2016 Summary of Infection Prevention in Dental Settings: Basic Expectations for Care.
Each chapter of the workbook contains practical how-to instructions, charts, additional checklists, pictures and captions, and answers to common infection prevention and control questions. In addition, the workbook includes the reprinted 2016 CDC Summary two-part checklist for the dental practice infection prevention coordinator with which he or she can assess 1) the practice’s infection prevention “policies and procedures,” and 2) the degree to which the dental staff are actually adhering to them.
Incidents involving the transmission of infectious agents among patients and dental clinicians are rare, according to the CDC. However, between 2003 and 2015, they have been documented. By using the CDC checklist, dental practices can evaluate their site-specific written policies, procedures and personnel practices to ensure compliance with CDC recommendations. The OSAP workbook offers a self-directed continuing education (CE) program (with ten hours of CE credits available). The workbook is available to OSAP members for $66 and to non-members for $78. It is an excellent foundation for sales representatives who want to understand the CDC Guidelines.
For more information, or to purchase the new workbook, visit https://osap.site-ym.com/store.
