Outbreaks of SARS and Flu Jolts Taiwan's Department of Health into Nationwide Implementation of Infection Control Measures, Observes Frost & Sullivan
SINGAPORE, April 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
- Governments Request Hospitals to Apportion 0.5 to 1.5 percent of Incomes from Hospitalization to Infection Control
After a fierce outbreak of flu and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Taiwan, the country's Department of Health (DoH) went into overdrive and introduced a slew of infection control programs. Measures such as hospital accreditation and ratings based on patient safety and quality control encourages medical institutions to establish an effective control system for hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), also known as nosocomial infections.
Other initiatives, across hospitals, include the 'Hand Hygiene Project', 'Clean Wound Infection Rate', and 'Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy'.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.medicaldevices.frost.com), Hospital-acquired Infection Incidence - Trends in Taiwan, finds that private hospitals accounted for 75 percent of the HAI cases in Taiwan in 2010, as they had more numbers of beds. In this research, Frost & Sullivan's expert analysts thoroughly analyze the following infections types: blood stream infection (BSI), surgical site infection, respiratory tract infection (RTI), urinary tract infection (UTI), others {infections of skin and soft tissues, eye (ophthalmic), reproductive organs, and stomach and intestine (gastritis)}.
The Government has also established the Taiwan Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System (TNIS) to control infection rates and help devise effective policies. Currently, hospitals voluntarily report instances of HAI to the TNIS. The feedback from TNIS helps hospitals to improve their quality of care and safety environment for both patients and healthcare workers.
"Further, as Taiwan is gearing for medical tourism, the Government is promoting the Program of Nosocomial Infection Control Inspection and Quality Improvement in hospitals," says Frost & Sullivan Consultant Poornima Srinivasan.
According to the DoH, out of the total 2,608,751 in-patient admissions in 2010, an estimated 100,000 cases of HAI were reported, indicating a prevalence rate of 4 percent. The most frequent infections are UTI, followed by BSI, and RTI, with RTI being the biggest cause of lost bed days (267,088 lost bed days).
Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has incorporated the guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and best practices followed by both the United States and European Union to effectively reduce the number of HAI cases.
"In turn, the participants in the infection control market, namely the manufacturers of disinfectant equipment, gels, and scrubs, could implement the best practices followed in Taiwan and replicate the same in other countries of the Asia Pacific," notes Srinivasan.
If you are interested in more information on this study, please send an e-mail with your contact details to Jessie Loh, Corporate Communications, at jessie.loh@frost.com.
Hospital-acquired Infection Incidence - Trends in Taiwan is part of the Medical Devices Growth Partnership Services program, which also includes research in the following markets: Hospital-acquired Infection Incidence - Trends in Australia and Hospital-acquired Infection Incidence - Trends in Malaysia. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.
Contact:
Donna Jeremiah
Corporate Communications - Southeast Asia
P: + 61 (02) 8247-8927
F: +61 (02) 9252-8066
E: djeremiah@frost.com
Jessie Loh
Corporate Communications - Southeast Asia
P: +65-6890-0942
E: jessie.loh@frost.com
Share this article