Determining the presence of a hospital acquired infection requires an infection control practitioner (ICP) to review a patients chart and see if the patient had the signs and symptom of an infection. Surveillance definitions exist for infections of the bloodstream, urinary tract, pneumonia, surgical sites and gastroenteritis. Surveillance traditionally involved significant manual data assessment and entry in order to assess preventative actions such as isolation of patients with an infectious disease. Increasingly, computerized software solutions are becoming available that assess incoming risk messages from microbiology and other online sources. By reducing the need for data entry, software can reduce the data workload of ICPs, freeing them to concentrate on clinical surveillance. As of 1998, approximately one third of healthcare acquired infections were preventable. Surveillance and preventative activities are increasingly a priority for hospital staff. The Study on the Efficacy of Nosocomial Infection Control (SENIC) project by the U.S. CDC found in the 1970s that hospitals reduced their nosocomial infection rates by approximately 32 per cent by focusing on surveillance activities and prevention efforts. Isolation and quarantine
In healthcare facilities, medical isolation refers to various physical measures taken to interrupt nosocomial spread of contagious diseases.
For non-critical situations, or situations involving electronic devices, stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, beds, monitors and other general hospital equipment, intermediate level disinfection is required. "Clean all equipment between patients with alcohol, use protective covering for non-critical surfaces that are difficult to clean, and hydrogen peroxide gas. . .for reusable items that are difficult to clean." Sterilization
Sterilization is a process intended to kill all microorganisms and is the highest level of microbial kill that is possible.Sterilization, if performed properly, is an effective way of preventing Infections from spreading. It should be used for the cleaning of  medical instruments and any type of medical item that comes into contact with the blood stream and sterile tissues.There are four main ways in which such items are usually sterilized: autoclave (by using high-pressure steam), dry heat (in an oven), by using chemical sterilants such as glutaraldehydes or formaldehyde solutions or by exposure to ionizing radiation. The first two are the most widely used methods of sterilization mainly because of their accessibility and availability. Steam sterilization is one of the most effective types of sterilizations, if done correctly which is often hard to achieve. Instruments that are used in health care facilities are usually sterilized with this method. The general rule in this case is that in order to perform an effective sterilization, the steam must get into contact with all the surfaces that are meant to be disinfected.