State regulations governing infection control issues in long-term care.

Objective: To examine states' regulations governing infections and infection control in long-term-care institutions.

Design: Collection and examination of relevant documents from all of the states, the District of Columbia, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, and Medicare/Medicaid.

Main Outcome Measures: Rules governing (1) admissions of patients with infections, (2) tuberculin testing of residents, (3) employee health, (4) use of immunizations, (5) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, and (6) infection control were compared.

Results: There were wide variations in states' policies in each of these areas and many were inconsistent with current scientific knowledge.

Conclusion: Uniform federal standards for long-term care would probably provide a better and more economical way to ensure quality of care in these institutions.