Practice Management Alert

Start incorporating best practices now before germ-laden patients flood in.

While kids are enjoying summer vacation and you are finding time to enjoy a day at the beach, autumn and cold/flu season seem far off. But before you know it, coughing and sneezing patients will fill your waiting room. Now is the time to ensure your infection control measures are up to snuff to keep your staff and other patients cold- and flu-free. 

Every year at least 200,000 Americans are likely hospitalized from influenza, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and as many as 36,000 people die due to flu complications. Follow these tips to prevent your employees from becoming part of the statistics.

Encourage Lots of Hand Washing

You may know someone who always goes overboard with hand sanitizers or antibacterial soaps — and now is the time to follow suit.

Why? The flu is easily spread in closed quarters like offices and schools. 

Cut down your risk by washing your hands often and keeping your hands away from your eyes, nose, or mouth.

Stress the Importance of Vaccination 

Elderly people and children are at the greatest risk for flu complications, but everyone will benefit from getting vaccinated. Healthcare workers, especially, should make sure they receive vaccinations, including the flu and H1N1 shots.

Remember: You and your employees should inoculate your children to provide stronger protection against the virus for adults. Once the children are vaccinated, work on the adults.

“Children have more influenza in their body when they get sick,” explains Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, an immunization specialist at PATH, a public health advocacy group. This means they have more of the virus to spread around, especially when combined with children’s poor hygiene. “When you have a flu outbreak, it’s usually a school that gets closed,” Neuzil notes.

Don’t stress: One reason to calm down is chronic unnecessary stress can undermine the flu shot’s effectiveness. “Our studies showed that people who have lots of stress going on in their lives have poorer responses to the influenza vaccination,” says Dr. Vikki Burns of the University of Birmingham in England.

That said, those who aren’t worry-warts may respond better to the flu shot if they experience a brief flash of anxiety, such as when they wait in a long line for the shot. “Stress is only good for immune function if it is very brief, experienced immediately before vaccination,” she says.

Allow Sick Days

You know when you’re getting sick, but if you’re like most people, you go to work anyway. However, public health experts urge everyone to just stay home.

You are more likely to spread the virus during the first days of an illness. “By staying home, you can protect against inadvertently infecting others,” says Neuzil.

Don’t Stock Pile OTC Remedies

Yes, there may be a run on over-the-counter antiviral medicines at your local drug store, but that doesn’t mean you need to start hoarding.

These types of medicines must be taken within the first 48 hours of contracting the flu and, on average, only shorten your symptoms by one day. Also, “If you stockpile Tamiflu, you run the risk that someone who really needs it can’t get it,” says Neuzil.

Better: Try to minimize your exposure to the virus. If you do contract it, keep Tylenol or Advil on hand, drink plenty of fluids, and allow your body to rest. With this strategy, you should be flu-free within a week.