Medical Matters: Promoting infection prevention and control in Alberta’s medical clinics

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By Cody Dingreville, IPAC Program Manager

As physicians and physician assistants, you understand the importance of infection prevention and control (IPAC) for both you and your patients. Because IPAC is so closely tied to patient safety, CPSA is responsible for overseeing these practices in Alberta’s medical clinics.

I joined CPSA in September 2024 as the IPAC Program Manager, bringing with me 20 years of IPAC and medical device reprocessing (MDR) experience from a wide range of facilities. I am thrilled to pen this month’s Medical Matters and offer you a glimpse into our small but mighty program, highlighting our significant work and the importance of medical clinic physicians referring their clinic teams to our program guidance.

Ensuring safe patient care through IPAC and MDR requirements

IPAC is essential for protecting patients, healthcare workers and the public from the spread of harmful infections. Effective IPAC practices reduce the spread of infectious agents,

improve patient outcomes and support overall safety and quality of patient care. CPSA’s IPAC team develops evidence-based requirements, guidance and resources to help clinic staff understand their basic obligations around things like hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, managing medical sharps and more. CPSA also outlines requirements for single-use medical devices and oversees MDR in Alberta medical clinics that perform procedures using reusable medical devices.

Opening, building or renovating a medical clinic

To assist new and established medical clinics in meeting CPSA’s IPAC standards, CPSA provides comprehensive support for clinics that are opening, building or renovating in Alberta.

This resource assists clinic owners, managers and construction teams through four stages: construction and design considerations, pre-opening requirements, daily operations and clinic closure procedures. It emphasizes compliance with building codes, adherence to CPSA’s Standards of Practice, patient privacy protection and maintaining high-quality patient care. Additionally, the webpage provides links to essential resources, including infection prevention and control requirements, medical device reprocessing requirements and relevant legislation.

Clinic registration

When patients walk into a medical clinic, they expect safe, high-quality care. Medical clinic registration shows commitment to CPSA’s standards for safety and excellence. As a new or established clinic, registering with CPSA equips physicians with the tools and resources to proactively prevent infection risks, avoid unnecessary costs and stay ahead of potential issues. Physicians who register clinics benefit from CPSA’s assessments, including IPAC and Group Practice Reviews, which provide a valuable competency check-up.

Is your medical clinic registered?

Register your clinic with CPSA today—it’s quick and easy!

For more information on all things IPAC, including MDR templates and clinic registration instructions, please visit the medical clinics page on CPSA’s website. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at ipac@cpsa.ab.ca or 780-969-5004.

On behalf of CPSA’s IPAC team, I want to sincerely thank physicians and medical clinic staff for their continued hard work ensuring their patients receive safe and high-quality health care.

Cody Dingreville, CMDRT, graduated from the Medical Device Reprocessing Technology program in 2004 and holds certification as a Certified Medical Device Reprocessing Technician through the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). With 20 years of experience in medical device reprocessing and IPAC—including over 10 years of progressive leadership across tertiary, regional and rural healthcare settings—he has supported a wide range of facilities, from major hospitals to dental clinics. Cody joined CPSA in 2024 as the Program Manager for Infection Prevention & Control (IPAC) after serving as an IPAC Assessor since 2022. Cody is also on the faculty at the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, Mike Petryk School of Dentistry, where he led the design and execution of the Sterilization Support Program and serves as the program’s lead clinical lecturer.