Hospital infections in Thailand

• Main Author: Sirisanthana T.
• Format: Article
• Language: Japanese; English
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-0035724856&partnerID=40&md5=5e3161005a5ccb210ac3859bb6575a07; http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/handle/6653943832/2579
• Institution: Chiang Mai University

In 1971, the first hospital infection control program in Thailand was set up at one of the university hospitals in Bangkok. The idea of infection control did not readily catch on at other hospitals. There was no clear policy from the government. No budget or personnel was specifically provided for the activity. Hospital infection rate was not among the indicators used to evaluate the performance of hospital directors. In addition patients or a third party paid for all costs including the cost of treating preventable hospital infection. There was no political or financial incentive to set up a hospital infection control program. A few directors who set up a program in their hospital had to use budget from other activity. Their infection control nurse and hospital epidemiologist were usually "borrowed" from other departments. Despite all the obstacles, the number of hospitals with infection control program has increased over the years. A network of infection control nurses has been set up. A master program in infection control has been established at Chiang Mai University. In the new millennium several developments have promised to improve the practice of infection control in Thailand. Under the new healthcare financing scheme, the hospital is responsible for the cost of treating nosocomial infection. The advent of computerization will simplify the task of infection control practitioners. Finally the healthcare quality improvement movement has brought about hospital accreditation process, in which all hospitals are required to have a functioning infection control program.