ABSTRACT
Activities and the understanding of infection control in healthcare facilities have improved in the past decade since a certification system for medical personnel, such as infection control nurse and infection control doctor, were introduced in Japan. These specialists are distributed among tertiary general hospitals, while many small and mid-scale hospitals have no infection control specialists. In 2012, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare launched a new strategy for further improvement of infection control by supporting a regional network of infection control activities. Through the infection control network, small or mid-scaled hospitals can utilize infection control specialists in tertiary general hospitals, enter educational programs on infection control and consult in cases of nosocomial infection outbreaks. As part of the regional infection control network, we established an information network system, named ReNICS, to share the bacteriological test results of the hospitals in Akita prefecture. ReNICS offers epidemiological data on bacteria identified in the region. We can identify the spread of multi-drug resistant bacteria and can roughly estimate the quality of infection control activities in each facility. As a similar information network is being prepared in Hirosaki University Hospital Infection Control Center in Aomori, a prefecture neighboring Akita, we discussed the roles of university hospitals for a regional infection control network.
