This regulation requires hospice providers to maintain a documented, agency-wide infection control program covering prevention, surveillance, and education. Hospices must follow standard precautions, integrate infection control into their quality assessment and performance improvement program, and provide infection control education to employees, contracted providers, patients, and family members. This is a federal Condition of Participation applicable to Medicare-certified hospice programs.
View official source§ 418.60 Condition of participation: Infection control. The hospice must maintain and document an effective infection control program that protects patients, families, visitors, and hospice personnel by preventing and controlling infections and communicable diseases. (a) Standard: Prevention. The hospice must follow accepted standards of practice to prevent the transmission of infections and communicable diseases, including the use of standard precautions. (b) Standard: Control. The hospice must maintain a coordinated agency-wide program for the surveillance, identification, prevention, control, and investigation of infectious and communicable diseases that— (1) Is an integral part of the hospice's quality assessment and performance improvement program; and (2) Includes the following: (i) A method of identifying infectious and communicable disease problems; and (ii) A plan for implementing the appropriate actions that are expected to result in improvement and disease prevention. (c) Standard: Education. The hospice must provide infection control education to employees, contracted providers, patients, and family members and other caregivers. [73 FR 32204, June 5, 2008, as amended at 86 FR 61616, Nov. 5, 2021; 88 FR 36510, June 5, 2023]