While COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of infection control in sleep centers, the issue should always be an organization-wide priority. An effective infection control program identifies risks, defines mitigation efforts, and measures results. Whether in a hospital-based sleep lab with multiple beds, an independent diagnostic testing facility, or a physician-run lab, infection control is essential to improving patient safety and quality of care.

Accreditation surveyors begin with the big picture. A sleep center’s infection control program must identify risks for the acquisition and transmission of infectious agents across all care/service settings.

From here, the surveyor will look at the details of implementation and how the results are evaluated.