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Denver, CO, October 11, 2007 — Medical Simulation Corporation (MSC) has introduced its latest addition to the SimSuite expanding hospital-centric courseware: Invasive Line Management. This self-paced, Web-accessible didactic course was developed to educate healthcare providers on the management of invasive lines and the appropriate prevention practices as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. The goal of this course is to assist hospitals and their staff in meeting quality initiatives in decreasing central line infection rates and ultimately the morbidity and mortality that follows.

Healthcare-associated infections in U.S. hospitals account for an estimated two million infections and 90,000 deaths annually. Central line-associated blood stream infections (BSI) are the third most common healthcare-associated infections reported by medical/surgical Intensive Care Units (ICU) participating in the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance (NNIS) system. Each year, an estimated 250,000 cases of central line-associated BSIs occur in hospitals in the United States, with an estimated attributable mortality of 12 ‚ 25% for each infection. The marginal cost to the healthcare system is approximately $25,000 per episode. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have identified catheter-associated adverse events, including BSIs, as one of its seven healthcare safety challenges, with a goal to reduce such complications by 50% in five years. Many states are adopting laws that require hospitals to report healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) to state boards, which in turn would disclose the information to the public. Due to this, many institutions have implemented quality improvement initiatives aimed at decreasing the incidence of central line-associated BSIs.

This course, designed for healthcare professionals who provide routine care for different types of invasive lines, can be integrated into an existing quality improvement program or used as a stand-alone, institution-wide educational course. The course includes a pre-test to assess baseline knowledge as well as reviews of the clinical indications and contraindications for central line placement, types of invasive lines (long term and short term), routine management and care, and complications with a focus on signs and symptoms of infection. A post-test has been designed to ensure learning objectives have been met.

The SimSuite Invasive Line Management course provides an education solution for all institutions striving to decrease the number of invasive line infections and enhance patient outcomes. For more information or to register for this course, go to www.medsimulation.com and click on "Education."

Source: Medical Simulation Corporation