Isolation (health care)
In a system devised, and periodically revised, by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), various levels of patient isolation comprise application of one or more formally described "precaution".
These most commonly include items of personal protective equipment (gowns, masks, and gloves) and engineering controls (positive pressure rooms, negative pressure rooms, laminar air flow equipment, and various mechanical and structural barriers).
Even if a person takes all necessary precautions to protect oneself from disease, such as being up-to-date with vaccines and practicing good hygiene, he or she can still get sick.
[8] Universal precautions refer to the practice, in medicine, of avoiding contact with patients' bodily fluids, by means of the wearing of nonporous articles such as medical gloves, goggles, and face shields.
[11] Frequent hand hygiene is essential for protection of healthcare workers and patients from hospital-acquired infection.
These most commonly include items of personal protective equipment (gowns, masks, and gloves) and engineering controls (positive pressure rooms, negative pressure rooms, laminar air flow equipment, and various mechanical and structural barriers).
Reverse isolation is a way to prevent a patient in a compromised health situation from being contaminated by other people or objects.
It often involves the use of laminar air flow and mechanical barriers (to avoid physical contact with others) to isolate the patient from any harmful pathogens present in the external environment.
[citation needed] Strict isolation[dubious – discuss] is used for diseases spread through the air and in some cases by contact.
Health care workers may be regularly exposed to various types of illnesses and are at risk of getting sick.
[33] Health care workers who become infected with certain contagious agents may not be permitted to work with patients for a period of time.
The CDC has also released resource for health care facilities to assist in assessing and reducing risk for occupational exposure to infectious diseases.
The purpose of these standards and guidelines is to prevent the spread of disease to others in a health care facility.
[37] Although a majority of health care professionals advocate for disease isolation as an effective means of reducing disease transmission, some health care professionals are concerned with implementing such control protocols given the possible negative consequences on patients.
Patients isolated with Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) can also be negatively impacted by having less documented care/bedside visits from attending and residents.
This justifies that disease isolation is most likely to result in the greatest amount of positive outcomes for the largest number of people.
[40] Disease isolation can also be justified as a morally legitimate ethical practice in public health based on the reciprocal relationship between the individual and the state.
[41] Guidance on when and how human rights can be restricted to prevent the spread of infectious disease is found in the Siracusa Principles,[42] a non-binding document developed by the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights and adopted by the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1984.
