[Information on nosocomial infections in hospitals without microbiological laboratories: effective data utilization through outsourcing].

To implement hospital-acquired infection control, sharing information, including the most recent data, is vital. With the current crisis in community healthcare and a subsequent lack of hospital laboratories, increasing numbers of clinical tests, unprofitable microbiological tests in particular, have been outsourced. At present, most medium- and small-scale hospitals in Japan do not conduct microbiological testing themselves, and so the outsourcing of these tests is essential for the promotion of infection control, including the provision of data on microbial detection. Our hospital, a central and the only general hospital with 160 beds in our area, usually outsources microbiological testing. With the aim of enhancing infection prevention and other clinical support services and promoting hospital infection control, were developing a system, led by the Department of Inspection, to provide appropriate information on nosocomial infections in collaboration with other departments within the hospital and partner organizations.