Leading private hospital group Mediclinic Southern Africa has confirmed that there has been a positive reduction of HAIs at its hospitals since they installed ICNet, an automated surveillance system designed specifically to assist with infection prevention and control. ICNet allows time and cost savings by means of a web-based case management, outbreak prevention and reporting tool for its infection control teams. A very valuable feature of ICNet is the pre-set Alerts that enable infection prevention and control practitioners to follow up patients with resistant organisms promptly.
At Mediclinic Southern Africa, the ICNet system brings together all microbiology results and patient information linking key information into one real-time system. This can be accessed by the clinical risk manager in any nursing unit in the hospital at any time. The system allows flexibility for the individual, as well as analysis of individual hospitals and the group as a whole. ICNet and Mediclinic also provide an educational and discussion forum for infection prevention teams at every Mediclinic Southern Africa hospital.
Briette du Toit, infection prevention and control specialist at Mediclinic Southern Africa, says: “With 52 hospitals covering such a large geographical area, ICNet really helped me to understand what is happening in each hospital. I am able to monitor trends and alert organisms and assist with potential outbreaks. The alerts we receive through the system have been invaluable and have helped us to control potential outbreaks, saving us time, , and of course enhancing patients' quality of life. Since using ICNet we have seen a reduction in HAI rates, which is quite significant particularly when considering the resistant organisms that are emerging.”
According to Katie Houghton, ICNet founder, “Mediclinic is leading the way in South Africa by providing a proactive infection prevention solution in a cost-effective manner, making its hospitals the safest possible environments for patients. Not only does this surveillance and reporting system assist with reducing the likelihood of infection, it also ensures that patients with infections receive the correct care and treatment at the right time”.