“Screening at the door” - continuous rapid molecular screening for MRSA at emergency department is efficacious and effective

MRSA is highly prevalent in Singapore hospitals. MRSA bacteremia is being monitored by Ministry of Health (MOH) and will become a key performance indicator from 2015. TTSH is a 1600 bedded hospital with the second busiest emergency department in the country. The majority of patients are in open, multi-bedded wards and shared facilities. Many strategies including active surveillance for MRSA and cohorting of patients have been in place for several years. Patients are screened on admission, and positive patients transferred to cohort wards with substantial resource wastage as well as increased chances of transmission.