Integrating Anesthesia, Laboratory, Pharmacy, and Emergency Teams to Combat Healthcare-Associated Infections

Abstract

Healthcare-associated infections challenge patient safety and healthcare outcomes globally. Multidisciplinary teams in the departments of anesthesia, laboratory, pharmacy, and emergency all have major roles in the prevention and management of HAIs. The anesthesia teams ensure asepsis in surgical procedures and proper prophylactic antibiotic administration; the laboratory teams contribute with fast and reliable diagnostic techniques; pharmacy teams lead in driving efforts in antimicrobial stewardship; and emergency departments are among the first lines in the early detection, isolation, and management of infectious cases. This review presented the various contributions of such teams to HAI prevention, as well as discussed ways of enhancing collaboration and further improving the infection control practices in healthcare settings.