Infection Prevention and Control and ASP: 2026 CMS Compliance Requirements (W6007)-Infection Prevention and Control and ASP 2026 Recording

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The session introduced speaker Laura Dixon, an RN and attorney with extensive risk management and patient safety leadership experience, and then focused on CMS expectations for infection prevention and control (IPC) and antibiotic stewardship programs (ASP). Dixon explained that CMS intensified scrutiny in recent years to reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and curb overuse of antibiotics that contributes to multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). She reviewed common survey deficiencies (e.g., weak hand hygiene enforcement, poor equipment disinfection such as glucometers/nebulizers, sharps and biohazard disposal problems, expired meds/equipment, improper use of single- and multi-dose vials, and instrument reprocessing gaps).<br /><br />Key requirements include a hospital-wide IPC program to track, prevent, and control infections and a coordinated ASP to optimize antibiotic use. Facilities must designate qualified leaders (infection preventionist and stewardship leadership) appointed by the governing board, supported with adequate resources, and integrated with QAPI. Policies, surveillance, documentation, staff education/competency, auditing, and cross-department collaboration (nursing, physicians/residents/students, pharmacy, lab, environmental services, etc.) are central to compliance. Dixon emphasized water management and Legionella prevention, outbreak response and public health reporting, and new/updated respiratory infection reporting (COVID, flu, RSV) with reduced burden via weekly totals.<br /><br />She also discussed unified/integrated programs across multi-hospital systems, device cleaning/sterilization standards, reporting infection control breaches, and practical training resources (CDC modules, checklists, and toolkits). A closing case study highlighted clinical escalation failures leading to severe MRSA outcomes and the need for peer review, policy review, and corrective monitoring.

Keywords

CMS infection prevention and control

antibiotic stewardship program (ASP)

healthcare-associated infections (HAIs)

multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs)

hand hygiene compliance

equipment disinfection (glucometers/nebulizers)

instrument reprocessing and sterilization

single-dose and multi-dose vial safety

water management and Legionella prevention

outbreak response and public health reporting

QAPI integration and audit readiness

MRSA case study and clinical escalation failures