Developed By: Committee on Quality Management and Departmental Administration
Last Amended: October 25, 2017 (original approval: October 25, 2017)
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The American Society of Anesthesiologists® (ASA) offers this statement for consideration by surgeons, anesthesiologists, operating room nurses, their hospitals and healthcare organizations. This statement is provided as general guidance. It does not constitute a standard of care and is not intended to replace the professional judgment of local stakeholders.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires that facility level programs for prevention, control and investigation of infections and communicable diseases be conducted in accordance with nationally recognized infection control practices or guidelines, as well as applicable regulations of other federal and state agencies.1
Local policies related to surgical attire should be developed by local stakeholders to balance the objective of reducing the risk of patient harm with pragmatic considerations, such as strength of evidence, feasibility and economic burden. Local policies will optimally also consider other attributes such as professionalism. Professional societies and other standard setting organizations often offer statements that contain similar content but use different development methodologies and reflect different goals and objectives. In these circumstances, facilities and health systems may benefit from a thorough discussion of professional society statements to guide the development of local policies.
Therefore, the ASA recommends:
Anesthesiologists, surgeons, other procedural physicians and nursing staff must be included with other appropriate clinicians and facility administrators in the development of local surgical and procedural attire policies.
1 State Operations Manual Appendix A - Survey Protocol, Regulations and Interpretive Guidelines for Hospitals §482.42 Condition of Participation: Infection Control recommendations are based. Evidence should be evaluated for its validity, relevance, and completeness as well as its potential for bias.