Whole-Of-Hospital Infection Control: A Holistic Review Of Multidisciplinary Medical Department Practices And Patient Safety Impacts

Abstract

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain a major challenge to patient safety, care quality, and health system sustainability worldwide. While infection prevention and control (IPC) programs have traditionally focused on isolated clinical practices or single departments, growing evidence highlights the limitations of fragmented approaches. This review adopts a whole-of-hospital perspective to examine how coordinated practices across all medical and support departments contribute to effective infection control and improved patient safety outcomes. Using an integrative review methodology, relevant studies published in recent years were synthesized to explore multidisciplinary roles, organizational structures, and system-level enablers of hospital-wide IPC. The findings demonstrate that effective infection control is driven by the alignment of clinical care, diagnostics, medication management, environmental services, workforce training, governance mechanisms, and digital surveillance systems. Hospitals implementing integrated, multidisciplinary IPC frameworks consistently report reductions in HAIs, improved antimicrobial stewardship, enhanced safety culture, and better patient outcomes. The review underscores the importance of leadership commitment, shared accountability, and data-driven coordination in sustaining infection prevention efforts. This holistic synthesis provides a conceptual and practical foundation for healthcare leaders seeking to strengthen hospital-wide infection control strategies and advance patient safety.