The recent worldwide attention to the H1N1 virus is a reminder that a few core principles protect against infection — whether it’s business as usual or a pandemic, say SHC’s infection control leaders.

Perhaps nothing illustrates the intersection of epidemiology with public perception more clearly than a recent discussion among Medical Staff leaders and infection control professionals about whether wearing scrubs should be restricted in public, said Lucy S. Tompkins, professor of medicine/infectious diseases and the hospital’s infection control officer.

The bottom line: regulating the wearing of scrubs in public is a public relations or economic issue not a safety issue, say Tompkins and Sasha Madison, manager of infection control.

“The hospital may choose to regulate the use of scrubs by health care professionals outside the hospital, but it’s intellectually and factually dishonest to claim that there is evidence-based research to support the banning of scrubs outside the clinical environment,” Tompkins added. [See more]