Unsafe Injection Practices in the U.S. Healthcare System

This session of Grand Rounds explored how unsafe injection practices which put patients at risk of infection have been associated with a wide variety of procedures and settings. Injectable medicines are commonly used in healthcare settings for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of various illnesses. Unsafe injections also increase the burden on patients, healthcare providers, and medical care and public health systems. These harms are preventable through renewed attention to infection control and injection safety practices, which will be a focus of the presentations at this Grand Rounds.

Presented By

Joseph Perz, DrPH
Team Leader, Ambulatory and Long Term Care
Prevention and Response Branch
Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
“Injections without Infections: Basic Patient Safety”

Guthrie Birkhead, MD, MPH
Deputy Commissioner, Office of Public Health
New York State Department of Health
“The Sharp end of the Needle: A Health Department’s Experiences”

Thomas Hamilton, MD
Director, Survey and Certification Group
Center for Clinical Standards and Quality
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
“Progress Made and Actions Needed to Increase Injection Safety”

Facilitated By

Tanja Popovic, MD, PhD, Scientific Director, Public Health Grand Rounds
John Iskander, MD, MPH, Deputy Scientific Director, Public Health Grand Rounds
Susan Laird, MSN, RN, Communications Manager, Public Health Grand Rounds

Additional Resources

• MMWR Report on CDC Grand Rounds: Preventing Unsafe Injection Practices