Environmental scans: Quality and content of consumer information

These scans were prompted when a notable variation in practice was highlighted for these topics in the Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation series.

Antimicrobial stewardship and antibiotic use

Antimicrobials are medicines used to treat and prevent infections. They include antibiotics and antiviral medicines. Infections are caused by organisms called microbes, such as bacteria.

There is a risk that heater cooler devices used in cardiac surgery may be contaminated with Mycobacterium or other water-borne non-Mycobacterium species.

Effective infection prevention and control practices reduce the risk of transmission of infections between patients, healthcare workers and others in the healthcare environment.

Download the Commission's Code of Conduct:

Clinical governance ensures that the community and health service organisations can be confident that systems are in place to deliver safe and high-quality health care, and continuously improve services. Clinical governance is an integrated component of corporate governance of health service