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When medical facilities compare healthcare laundry providers in order to choose the best one, an aspect they don't always consider is how confusing billing methods can be in this industry. In terms of cost-efficiency, being aware of what hidden fees can lurk in a medical facility's laundry bill will help the facility save money without bargaining for quality. That's why ImageFIRST Houston is happy to share some of the insights they have gathered during almost fifty years in the healthcare laundry business.

On November 24, 2015, Press Ganey, a provider of patient experience measurements in the healthcare industry, announced that they have official approval to begin administering surveys to Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Outpatient & Ambulatory Surgery (AOS) CAHPS Survey is for hospital-based outpatient surgery departments, as well as for free-standing ambulatory surgery centers, and its primary focus is to discover how patients feel about the care they receive and, through that, discover ways to improve the patient experience. In practice, this survey will have a similar effect on surgery centers that the HCAHPS had on hospitals, meaning that it will serve to increase focus on overall patient satisfaction. On a larger scale, this is the most recent in a series of developments that clearly show the increasing importance of patient experience in the healthcare industry, as patients become more aware of the quality of the care they receive.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) aims to control and prevent diseases, injuries and disabilities. As the nation enters the flu season, considered to start at the beginning of October and last until the end of May, they have come out with additional information on what causes the flu season and how individuals can minimize their risk of infection. While it's impossible to predict the specifics of what a flu season will be like and what kinds of viruses will circulate during it, the CDC does give educated estimates that, for example, flu vaccines are based on.

OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, recently published a special report regarding standards in the healthcare laundry industry and the violations of these standards. OSHA works to ensure the safety of both the employees handling laundry as well as the patients, and monitors deficiencies or violations regarding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) guidelines. This work is extremely important as employees who handle garments and linens soiled with blood, for example, are at risk of contracting infectious diseases.

Throughout medical institutions, safety, hygiene, sterility and environmental control are all of the utmost importance. This is for the safety of medical professionals, patients and visitors alike. All of these factors are controlled and maintained by environmental services staff, and studies have shown that the quality of the services rendered depends entirely on the motivation and dedication of the staff themselves.