A CPSA infection prevention & control (IPC) inspection doesn't have to be stressful — if your clinic is genuinely ready. The clinics that struggle usually aren't careless; they just don't have the documentation, consistency, and evidence to prove good practice. Here's a practical checklist to get there.
What a CPSA IPC inspection covers
The College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) assesses community medical clinics against established IPC standards. An inspection reviews how your clinic prevents the transmission of infection — and whether your written program, training, and records back it up. Clinics that reprocess reusable medical devices or perform procedures with infection risk should pay particular attention.
The readiness checklist
Written IPC program
- A documented IPC program that reflects how your clinic actually operates
- Named responsibility for IPC
- Policies reviewed and current
Hand hygiene
- Hand-hygiene protocol and accessible supplies at points of care
- Staff trained; practice observed and recorded
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
- PPE available, appropriate, and used correctly
- Safe injection practices documented and followed
Environmental cleaning & disinfection
- Cleaning schedules and approved products
- Records that cleaning is happening as scheduled
Reprocessing of reusable devices
- Documented sterilization / reprocessing workflow
- Monitoring (e.g. logs, indicators) and equipment maintenance records
- Separation of clean and dirty workflows
Training & competency
- Onboarding and ongoing IPC training
- Competency records for staff who reprocess devices
Evidence
- An inspection-ready binder (paper or digital) that ties policy to proof
- A way to identify, track, and close issues
The gaps clinics miss most
- Practice without proof. You do the right thing, but can't show records.
- Stale policies. The binder says one thing; the clinic does another.
- Reprocessing evidence. Logs and monitoring are incomplete or inconsistent.
Staying ready year-round
The clinics that breeze through inspections treat IPC as routine, not a project. Set a cadence of internal audits and training, keep the evidence current, and — where it helps — replace fragile paper checklists with a tool that captures the records automatically.
How Zosimos helps
We help Alberta clinics get inspection-ready and stay ready: gap assessment against the IPC standards, the program and evidence inspectors expect, staff training, and corrective-action tracking to close findings and prevent recurrence.
See our CPSA IPC inspection readiness service, or get in touch — especially if you already have an inspection on the calendar.