Patient Safety & Quality Improvement USMLE Step 1 Practice Question
A 45-year-old hospital epidemiologist is reviewing a 12-month control chart from a quality improvement initiative tracking nosocomial infection rates on the medical/surgical unit. The chart displays infection rates consistently between 2-3% with random variation, no statistical trends, runs, or shifts identified. Previous culture data shows no clustering of specific pathogens. The team implemented standardized hand hygiene protocols 6 months ago and has maintained current antibiotic stewardship guidelines. The institution's benchmark for similar units is 2-4% infection rate. Which of the following is the most appropriate next step in managing this quality improvement initiative?
Answer choices
- ADiscontinue infection monitoring and reallocate resources to units with higher infection rates
- BImmediately increase sample size and conduct more frequent cultures to identify occult pathogenic patterns
- CDeclare the initiative a failure and revert to previous infection control practices
- DImplement aggressive empiric broad-spectrum antibiotic protocols to further reduce the 2-3% infection rate
- EMaintain current infection control practices and continue periodic monitoring with control charts to ensure the process remains stableCorrect answer
- FImplement intensive hand hygiene retraining and new environmental sterilization protocols despite absence of identified problems
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