Infection Preventionist's Adoption of Automated Surveillance: Perceived Advantages and Barriers

The majority of surveillance by infection preventionists (IP) is performed manually with only 23%-56% of surveyed healthcare facilities using automated surveillance systems. This is surprising in light of the evidence that the subjective nature of manual surveillance is potentially biased and has led to inter-institutional variability in the interpretation of infection definitions by IPs. Proponents of automated surveillance cite standardization of IP workflow and accurate case finding as a solution to potentially biased manual processes.