Precautions

Standard Precautions are used for all patient care. They’re based on a risk assessment and make use of common sense practices and personal protective equipment use that protect healthcare providers from infection and prevent the spread of infection from patient to patient.

Transmission-Based Precautions are the second tier of basic infection control and are to be used in addition to Standard Precautions for patients who may be infected or colonized with certain infectious agents for which additional precautions are needed to prevent infection transmission.

Hand hygiene protects you and those receiving the care you provide. The simple act of cleaning your hands can prevent the spread of germs, including those that are resistant to antibiotics. Some healthcare personnel may need to clean their hands as many as 100 times during a work shift.