11 Best Practices for Infection Control in Healthcare (2025)
Healthcare associated infections affect millions of patients each year and cost billions in preventable treatment. These infections spread through gaps in standard procedures that happen every day in hospitals, clinics, and care facilities. When staff skip hand hygiene between patients or misuse protective equipment, pathogens find their way from one person to another. The result? Longer hospital stays, worse patient outcomes, and infections that could have been stopped.
This guide breaks down 11 evidence based practices that form the foundation of effective infection control. You'll find clear explanations of what each practice involves, why it matters for stopping disease transmission, and specific steps your facility can take right now. We cover everything from hand hygiene protocols and PPE use to environmental cleaning, patient isolation, and staff training. Each section includes common mistakes healthcare workers make and practical ways to avoid them. Whether you're an infection preventionist, facility manager, or frontline clinician, these practices give you a framework to reduce infection rates and protect everyone who walks through your doors.
1. Treat skin infections without overusing antibiotics
Antibiotic resistance stands as one of the biggest threats to infection control programs worldwide. When you prescribe antibiotics for every skin infection, you create resistant bacteria that spread through your facility and into the community. Many common skin infections respond well to topical treatments and targeted therapies that don't involve systemic antibiotics. This approach protects your patients from unnecessary antibiotic exposure while preserving these drugs for cases that truly need them.
What this practice involves
This practice means choosing the right treatment based on the specific pathogen and infection type. For viral skin infections like molluscum contagiosum, you use topical treatments rather than antibiotics that won't work. Bacterial infections such as folliculitis or impetigo often respond to topical antiseptics or antibacterial creams before you need systemic drugs. You assess each case individually and select the most targeted approach available.
Why it matters for infection control
Antibiotic overuse creates multidrug resistant organisms that your standard infection control measures struggle to contain. These resistant pathogens require more aggressive isolation protocols, longer treatment courses, and higher healthcare costs. When you limit antibiotic use to appropriate cases, you reduce selection pressure that drives resistance. Your facility maintains more effective treatment options for severe infections that truly require antibiotics.
Preserving antibiotic effectiveness through appropriate use is as critical to infection control as hand hygiene or environmental cleaning.
Key steps to implement
Start by establishing clear guidelines for when antibiotics are necessary versus when topical or alternative treatments work better. Train your clinical staff to identify infection types that respond to non-antibiotic approaches. Stock your facility with effective topical antimicrobials and treatment options for common skin infections. Review prescription patterns regularly to identify overuse and provide targeted education where needed.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Many clinicians prescribe antibiotics because patients or families expect them. You prevent this by educating patients about why targeted treatment works better and carries fewer risks. Another mistake involves treating viral infections like molluscum with antibiotics. Avoid this by ensuring your staff can distinguish bacterial from viral presentations and know appropriate treatment protocols for each.
2. Apply strict hand hygiene every time
Hand hygiene remains the single most effective method to prevent pathogen transmission in any healthcare setting. Your hands carry microorganisms from patient to patient, from contaminated surfaces to clean areas, and from your environment into vulnerable sites. Every time you skip proper hand hygiene, you create an opportunity for infection to spread. The CDC identifies hand hygiene as a cornerstone of infection prevention because it breaks the chain of transmission at the most common point of contact.
What this practice involves
Proper hand hygiene means washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. You perform hand hygiene before touching a patient, before any clean or aseptic procedure, after body fluid exposure, after touching a patient, and after contact with patient surroundings. The timing matters as much as the technique. You must cover all hand surfaces including between fingers, under nails, and around thumbs to ensure complete coverage.
Why it matters for infection control
Pathogens survive on your hands for extended periods and transfer easily through direct contact. When you touch a contaminated surface and then touch a patient without cleaning your hands, you become the vector for infection. Studies show that proper hand hygiene reduces healthcare associated infections by up to 50% in some settings. Among all best practices for infection control, this one delivers the highest return for the lowest cost and effort invested.
Consistent hand hygiene prevents more infections than any other single intervention in healthcare settings.
Key steps to implement
Place hand sanitizer dispensers at every point of care so staff never needs to walk more than a few steps to access them. Install sinks in strategic locations with soap, paper towels, and proper drainage. Monitor compliance through direct observation, electronic monitoring systems, or both. Provide immediate feedback to staff when you observe missed opportunities. Make hand hygiene part of every training program and orientation for new employees.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Staff often skip hand hygiene when rushed or when they believe gloves provide sufficient protection. You counter this by building adequate time into workflows and emphasizing that gloves don't replace hand hygiene. Another mistake involves using insufficient hand sanitizer or washing for less than 20 seconds. Prevent this through ongoing education about proper technique and the specific volume of sanitizer needed for effectiveness.
3. Use personal protective equipment correctly
Personal protective equipment creates a physical barrier between you and infectious materials you encounter during patient care. When you use PPE correctly, you protect yourself from exposure to blood, body fluids, secretions, and pathogens that cause healthcare associated infections. Improper use defeats the purpose because contaminated gloves touch clean surfaces, masks slip below noses, or you remove PPE in ways that transfer pathogens to your skin or clothing. The effectiveness of PPE depends entirely on proper selection, donning, use, and removal.
What this practice involves
This practice requires you to select the right type of PPE based on the anticipated exposure during each patient interaction. You wear gloves when touching blood, body fluids, mucous membranes, or nonintact skin. Gowns protect your clothing and skin during procedures likely to generate splashes. Masks, respirators, and eye protection shield your face from sprays and droplets. You must don PPE before patient contact and remove it in the correct sequence immediately after use to avoid contaminating yourself or the environment.
Why it matters for infection control
PPE blocks the transmission route between infected patients and healthcare workers or between patients through contaminated staff. Without proper barriers, you become a vector for pathogens that spread throughout your facility. Studies demonstrate that correct PPE use significantly reduces occupational infections among healthcare workers and prevents cross contamination between patients. Among best practices for infection control, PPE serves as your last line of defense when other measures fail.
PPE only protects you and your patients when you select the right equipment for each situation and use it exactly as designed.
Key steps to implement
Stock appropriate PPE types in multiple sizes at every point of care so staff can access what they need immediately. Post visual guides showing proper donning and doffing sequences in areas where staff prepare for patient contact. Conduct regular competency assessments to verify that every team member performs these steps correctly. Establish clear protocols specifying which PPE combinations you need for different patient conditions and procedures.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Staff frequently reuse single use gloves between patients or touch clean surfaces while wearing contaminated gloves. You prevent this by emphasizing that gloves protect you, not patients, and must be changed between each patient contact. Another mistake involves incorrect removal that contaminates hands or clothing. Avoid this through hands-on training with return demonstrations and immediate feedback when you observe improper technique.
4. Follow respiratory hygiene and source control
Respiratory infections spread rapidly in healthcare settings when infected individuals cough, sneeze, or talk without proper precautions. Droplets containing infectious pathogens travel through the air and land on surfaces or enter the respiratory tracts of nearby people. You prevent this transmission by implementing respiratory hygiene protocols that contain infectious material at its source before it spreads. This approach works for both patients and healthcare workers who may have respiratory symptoms.
What this practice involves
This practice requires anyone with respiratory symptoms to wear a face mask that covers both nose and mouth. You provide tissues for covering coughs and sneezes, along with no-touch receptacles for disposal. Hand hygiene must follow immediately after contact with respiratory secretions. Healthcare facilities post signs reminding people to practice respiratory etiquette and place supplies at entrances where symptomatic individuals first enter.
Why it matters for infection control
Respiratory pathogens cause some of the most contagious and serious healthcare associated infections. When you implement source control by masking symptomatic individuals, you reduce the distance and quantity of infectious droplets released into the environment. This simple intervention prevents outbreaks of influenza, COVID-19, tuberculosis, and other respiratory diseases that spread quickly through patient populations and staff.
Containing respiratory secretions at the source stops transmission before pathogens have a chance to spread through your facility.
Key steps to implement
Position masks and tissues at all facility entrances, waiting areas, and patient care zones where people can access them immediately. Train staff to identify symptomatic patients upon arrival and provide masks before they enter common areas. Ensure your ventilation systems maintain adequate air exchanges and proper air flow patterns that prevent contaminated air from circulating between patient rooms.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Staff often forget to mask themselves when experiencing mild respiratory symptoms because they don't feel sick enough to stay home. You prevent this by establishing zero-tolerance policies that require masking for any symptoms regardless of severity. Another mistake involves improper mask fit that allows air leakage around edges. Avoid this by demonstrating correct placement and providing multiple mask styles that fit different face shapes properly.
5. Ensure safe injection and sharps practices
Contaminated needles and sharps cause thousands of occupational exposures each year when healthcare workers accidentally stick themselves or others. Every injection you give and every sharp instrument you handle creates a risk for transmitting bloodborne pathogens like hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV. You prevent these infections through consistent use of safe injection techniques and proper sharps disposal. This practice protects both you and your patients from needlestick injuries that can change lives forever.
What this practice involves
This practice requires you to use aseptic technique for every injection by cleaning the injection site, using a sterile needle and syringe for each patient, and never recapping needles after use. You dispose of sharps immediately in puncture-resistant containers located at the point of use. Single-dose vials remain single use, and you never save leftover medication for later. Each syringe enters only one patient, and you prepare medications in clean areas away from contaminated zones.
Why it matters for infection control
Reusing syringes or needles between patients transmits infections directly into the bloodstream where they cause serious disease. Even tiny amounts of contaminated blood left on needles spread hepatitis and other bloodborne pathogens efficiently. Needlestick injuries expose healthcare workers to these same infections and require costly post-exposure testing and treatment. Among best practices for infection control, safe injection practices prevent some of the most serious and preventable transmission events.
One contaminated needle used on multiple patients can trigger an outbreak affecting dozens of people across months before you detect it.
Key steps to implement
Place sharps containers within arm's reach of every location where you perform injections or handle sharp instruments. Stock single-use injection equipment in quantities that prevent any temptation to reuse supplies. Train staff to dispose of sharps immediately without recapping, and establish protocols for what to do when containers reach capacity. Conduct regular audits of injection practices to identify unsafe behaviors before they cause harm.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Staff sometimes recap needles because they learned this habit years ago or think it makes disposal safer. You prevent this by emphasizing that recapping causes most needlestick injuries and demonstrating proper one-handed disposal techniques. Another mistake involves overfilling sharps containers because you run out of replacements. Avoid this by maintaining adequate inventory and replacing containers when they reach the fill line marked on each unit.
6. Clean and disinfect environment and equipment
Contaminated surfaces and medical equipment serve as reservoirs for pathogens that survive for hours or days waiting to infect the next person who touches them. You transfer microorganisms from surfaces to hands to patients every time you touch contaminated equipment or environmental surfaces between patient interactions. Regular cleaning removes organic material, while disinfection kills remaining pathogens that cause infection. This dual approach eliminates environmental sources of transmission that standard precautions alone cannot address.
What this practice involves
This practice requires you to clean all patient care equipment and environmental surfaces using EPA-registered disinfectants appropriate for the surface type and contamination level. You follow manufacturer instructions for contact time, which specifies how long the disinfectant must remain wet on surfaces to kill pathogens effectively. Critical items that enter sterile tissue require sterilization, semi-critical items that touch mucous membranes need high-level disinfection, and non-critical items that contact intact skin receive low-level disinfection. You establish schedules for routine cleaning and disinfection of high-touch surfaces like bedrails, doorknobs, and call buttons.
Why it matters for infection control
Environmental surfaces contribute significantly to transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms like MRSA, VRE, and C. difficile that survive for extended periods on dry surfaces. When you skip proper cleaning and disinfection, these pathogens accumulate and spread to vulnerable patients through hand contact. Equipment shared between patients becomes a direct transmission vehicle unless you disinfect it properly after each use. This practice ranks among the most important best practices for infection control because it eliminates pathogen reservoirs throughout your facility.
Proper environmental hygiene prevents the silent accumulation of pathogens that your other infection control measures miss.
Key steps to implement
Train your environmental services staff on proper cleaning techniques, correct disinfectant selection, and required contact times for different surfaces. Provide color-coded cleaning supplies to prevent cross-contamination between patient rooms and common areas. Establish cleaning verification systems that document completion and allow you to monitor compliance. Stock sufficient disinfectant supplies at every care location so staff can clean equipment immediately after patient use.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Staff often wipe surfaces dry immediately after applying disinfectant without allowing adequate contact time. You prevent this by posting contact time requirements on disinfectant containers and educating staff that wet contact time determines effectiveness. Another mistake involves using the same cleaning cloth across multiple surfaces, which spreads contamination instead of removing it. Avoid this by implementing single-use disposable wipes or protocols that require frequent cloth changes during cleaning.
7. Use appropriate patient placement and isolation
Patient placement decisions directly impact how infections spread through your facility. When you place infected or colonized patients in shared rooms or allow unrestricted movement, you create opportunities for pathogen transmission to vulnerable populations. Strategic patient placement combined with proper isolation protocols stops transmission chains before they start. This practice requires you to assess every patient's infection risk upon admission and throughout their stay.
What this practice involves
This practice requires you to evaluate each patient for signs of infection or colonization with transmissible pathogens and place them accordingly. You assign private rooms to patients with airborne infections like tuberculosis or those infected with multidrug-resistant organisms. When private rooms are limited, you cohort patients with the same infection together and separate them from uninfected patients. Your facility maintains dedicated isolation rooms with appropriate ventilation for airborne precautions and easily cleaned surfaces for contact precautions.
Why it matters for infection control
Physical separation prevents direct and indirect transmission between infected and susceptible patients. When you place a patient with MRSA next to an immunocompromised patient, you dramatically increase the risk of cross-contamination through shared equipment, environmental surfaces, and staff movement. Proper isolation reduces transmission by creating barriers that other infection control measures cannot provide alone. This practice represents one of the core best practices for infection control because it addresses transmission at the source.
Strategic patient placement stops outbreaks before they start by preventing infected patients from exposing vulnerable populations.
Key steps to implement
Screen all patients at admission for infection history, recent hospitalizations, and current symptoms that suggest transmissible diseases. Establish protocols that prioritize private room assignments based on infection type and transmission risk. Train your bed management staff to understand isolation requirements so they make appropriate placement decisions. Create visual cues like colored door cards that alert everyone to isolation precautions without violating patient privacy.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Facilities often discharge isolation patients to general rooms too early because of bed shortages. You prevent this by maintaining strict criteria for discontinuing isolation based on negative cultures or completed treatment courses. Another mistake involves cohorting patients with different infections together. Avoid this by ensuring staff understand that cohorting only works when patients carry the same pathogen, not just similar symptoms.
8. Implement transmission based precautions
Standard precautions form your baseline, but some pathogens require additional measures that target their specific transmission routes. You add transmission based precautions when you care for patients with known or suspected infections that spread through contact, droplets, or airborne particles. These precautions supplement standard practices by creating extra barriers between infected patients and everyone else. Your facility must maintain systems that identify which patients need these precautions and ensure staff apply them consistently.
What this practice involves
This practice requires you to implement one or more precaution types based on how specific pathogens spread. Contact precautions add gowns and gloves for all patient interactions and dedicate equipment to single patient use for infections like MRSA or C. difficile. Droplet precautions require masks within three feet of patients with infections like influenza or pertussis that spread through large respiratory droplets. Airborne precautions demand N95 respirators and negative pressure rooms for diseases like tuberculosis or measles that travel on tiny particles remaining suspended in air.
Why it matters for infection control
Transmission based precautions stop pathogens that standard precautions alone cannot contain. When you fail to implement these measures for a patient with tuberculosis, that single case can expose dozens of patients and staff to a serious disease. Early identification and immediate precaution implementation prevent transmission chains that lead to outbreaks. These targeted interventions represent essential best practices for infection control because they match your response to each pathogen's unique transmission characteristics.
Transmission based precautions provide the extra protection you need when standard precautions cannot stop highly contagious or dangerous pathogens.
Key steps to implement
Train all staff to recognize clinical presentations that trigger each precaution type so they can implement measures before confirmatory test results arrive. Post clear signage outside patient rooms specifying which precautions you require and what PPE staff must wear. Stock appropriate supplies including dedicated equipment, proper PPE types, and isolation room materials. Establish protocols for how long precautions continue based on treatment completion or negative test results.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Staff sometimes delay implementing precautions until laboratory confirmation, allowing transmission during the wait period. You prevent this by emphasizing that clinical suspicion alone requires immediate precaution initiation. Another mistake involves combining incompatible precautions incorrectly. Avoid this by providing clear guidance on which precautions you layer together for specific infections.
9. Run surveillance and outbreak response systems
You cannot control what you do not measure. Surveillance systems track infection rates throughout your facility and identify patterns that signal emerging problems before they become full outbreaks. When you monitor which pathogens appear where, you detect clusters of infections that require immediate investigation. A functioning outbreak response system gives you the structure to act quickly when surveillance data reveals a problem. These systems work together as your early warning mechanism that turns data into action.
What this practice involves
This practice requires you to collect and analyze data on healthcare associated infections systematically. You track infection types, locations, patient populations affected, and trends over time using standardized definitions. Your surveillance system flags when infection rates exceed expected baseline levels. When an outbreak emerges, your response system activates investigation protocols that identify the source, implement control measures, and monitor effectiveness until the outbreak ends.
Why it matters for infection control
Surveillance catches outbreaks at the earliest stage when you can contain them with minimal impact. Without systematic monitoring, infections spread undetected until multiple patients develop serious illness. Rapid outbreak response prevents the exponential growth pattern that turns a few cases into facility-wide transmission. This practice stands among the most important best practices for infection control because it transforms reactive firefighting into proactive prevention.
Effective surveillance detects outbreaks when they involve two or three patients instead of twenty or thirty.
Key steps to implement
Designate trained infection preventionists who understand epidemiology and can analyze surveillance data correctly. Implement electronic systems that automatically flag infections meeting outbreak criteria based on your facility's baseline rates. Establish clear protocols specifying who investigates potential outbreaks, what steps they follow, and when they escalate to broader response teams. Conduct regular drills that test your outbreak response procedures so staff know their roles when real events occur.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Facilities often collect surveillance data without analyzing it regularly, missing obvious outbreak signals in the noise. You prevent this by scheduling weekly data review sessions where your infection prevention team examines trends and investigates anomalies immediately. Another mistake involves delaying outbreak investigations until you have absolute confirmation, allowing continued transmission during the wait. Avoid this by treating clusters as outbreaks until you prove otherwise through thorough investigation.
10. Support staff vaccination and occupational health
Healthcare workers face constant exposure to infectious diseases that put them at higher risk than the general population. You protect your staff through comprehensive vaccination programs and occupational health services that monitor exposures, provide post-exposure care, and track immunity status. When your employees stay healthy, they cannot transmit vaccine-preventable diseases to vulnerable patients. This practice ranks among the best practices for infection control because it prevents transmission chains before they start by creating immune barriers within your workforce.
What this practice involves
This practice requires you to screen all new employees for immunity to common vaccine-preventable diseases including hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, tetanus, pertussis, and influenza. You provide or facilitate vaccinations for anyone lacking immunity and maintain records of each employee's vaccination status. Your occupational health program tracks potential exposures to bloodborne pathogens, respiratory infections, and other transmissible diseases. When exposures occur, you provide immediate post-exposure prophylaxis and follow-up testing according to established protocols.
Why it matters for infection control
Unvaccinated healthcare workers transmit preventable diseases to immunocompromised patients who cannot fight infections effectively. When you maintain high vaccination rates among your staff, you create herd immunity that protects both employees and patients. Occupational health surveillance catches infections early before symptomatic employees expose entire patient units. Your vaccination program stops outbreaks that would otherwise spread through your facility and into the community.
Vaccinated staff form a protective shield around vulnerable patients who depend on your facility for care, not contagion.
Key steps to implement
Establish mandatory vaccination policies for all employees with medical or religious exemptions only where legally required. Schedule annual influenza vaccination campaigns that make it convenient for staff to receive vaccines during their shifts. Maintain a centralized database tracking each employee's immunity status and upcoming booster requirements. Provide occupational health services that employees can access easily for exposure reports and urgent care needs.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Some facilities treat vaccinations as optional recommendations rather than requirements for patient safety. You prevent this by implementing clear policies that make vaccination a condition of employment except where law prohibits. Another mistake involves inadequate follow-up after potential exposures. Avoid this by assigning dedicated staff who track exposed employees through entire post-exposure protocols until you clear them for work or complete their treatment.
11. Build a culture of training and feedback
Infection control practices only work when every person on your team understands them and applies them consistently. You achieve this through continuous education that goes beyond one-time orientation sessions and includes regular reinforcement through multiple methods. A feedback culture allows staff to learn from mistakes without fear and encourages them to speak up when they observe unsafe practices. This practice transforms infection control from a set of rules into shared values that guide daily behavior across your entire facility.
What this practice involves
This practice requires you to provide initial training for all new employees covering standard precautions, hand hygiene, PPE use, and transmission based precautions. You deliver ongoing education through multiple formats including in-person sessions, online modules, simulation exercises, and competency assessments. Regular audits with immediate feedback help staff correct errors while reinforcing proper techniques. Your facility establishes clear channels for reporting concerns and creates an environment where staff feel psychologically safe raising questions or identifying problems.
Why it matters for infection control
Knowledge gaps lead directly to infection control failures that harm patients. When your staff do not understand why specific practices matter or how to perform them correctly, they skip steps or improvise unsafe alternatives. Continuous training ensures new evidence and updated protocols reach everyone who needs them. Feedback systems catch errors before they become habits and turn individual learning moments into opportunities that benefit your entire team. Building this culture represents one of the most impactful best practices for infection control because it sustains all your other prevention efforts.
Training alone cannot change behavior, but training combined with regular observation and supportive feedback creates lasting improvement.
Key steps to implement
Schedule mandatory training sessions at regular intervals for all staff regardless of experience level. Conduct direct observations of infection control practices using standardized tools that measure compliance objectively. Provide feedback immediately when you observe both correct and incorrect practices. Create recognition programs that celebrate staff who consistently follow protocols and identify opportunities for improvement. Designate infection control champions on each unit who reinforce training messages and answer questions in real time.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Facilities often deliver training once during orientation and assume staff will remember everything indefinitely. You prevent this by implementing scheduled refresher training at least annually with more frequent sessions for high-risk practices. Another mistake involves punitive feedback that makes staff defensive instead of receptive to improvement. Avoid this by framing feedback as coaching that helps people succeed rather than criticism that assigns blame.
Key takeaways
These eleven best practices for infection control create a comprehensive framework that protects patients, staff, and your entire facility from preventable infections. You reduce transmission when you implement consistent hand hygiene, use PPE correctly, maintain clean environments, and apply transmission based precautions appropriately. Staff vaccination programs and continuous training transform these protocols from rules into behaviors that your team follows automatically every day.
Each practice connects to the others in ways that multiply their effectiveness. Your surveillance systems detect problems that your cleaning protocols can address before outbreaks start. Proper patient placement works with isolation procedures to contain infections at their source. Training ensures your staff understands not just what to do but why each step matters for patient safety.
Treating common skin infections without defaulting to antibiotics reduces resistance while still delivering effective care. For conditions like molluscum contagiosum that do not respond to antibiotics anyway, targeted topical treatments provide better outcomes. Explore our collection of evidence-based topical solutions that help you manage skin infections while preserving antibiotic effectiveness for cases that truly need them.