New infection control product monitors hand hygiene
Performing hand hygiene adequately and often is something that many healthcare facilities are striving to do better. For the most part, those in charge of monitoring for compliance with hand hygiene protocols use direct observational methods, which is not always a reliable method. However, a new product being developed at the University of Florida may help hospitals better monitor which staff members pay attention to hygiene, reports this article from HealthLeaders Media.The product, called HyGreen, should provide some relief to those hospitals worried about losing out on Medicare reimbursement due to a healthcare-acquired infection.
The product works is as follows: Staff members each wear a badge that transmits a unique identifying signal every three seconds. When he or she sanitizes his or her hands, a sensor measures the alcohol on his or her hands and transmits a signal to that person’s badge denoting the sanitization. Then, the staff member has 60 to 90 seconds to move to another area, usually by a patient’s bed, where an overhead sensor scans his or her personal badge. The badge will tell the sensor that the staff member recently sanitized his or her hands and can interact with a patient, and if the allotted time window has passed or a caregiver forgets to wash his or her hands, the staff member’s personal badge will vibrate to remind him or her to perform hand hygiene. The data is also transmitted to a central database.
What do you think about this type of monitoring technology? Too intrusive? Necessary in today’s harsh regulatory world? Important for keeping patients safe?
About the Author: Heather Comak is a Managing Editor at HCPro, Inc., where she is the editor of the monthly publication Briefings on Patient Safety, as well as patient safety-related books, webcasts, and audio conferences. She is also is the Assistant Director of the Association for Healthcare Accreditation Professionals (www.accreditationprofessional.com) and manages Patient Safety Monitor (www.patientsafetymonitor.com), of which this blog is a part.
Contact Heather by e-mailing hcomak@hcpro.com
Jannett | Jun 17, 2009 | Reply
I think this is great and want it now. I am sure it will be expensive. It is a shame that we would have to go to this extreme because people cannot remember to wash their hands.
Keith | Jun 17, 2009 | Reply
Jannett you have now idea how expensive. Plan on adding a FTE just to proctor, train, update, troubleshoot something like this.
Think about it…how many staff you gonna tag ‘em all? People will go epapletic
Maria | Jun 17, 2009 | Reply
I’m sorry but I find this too much like a Pavlovian method for getting staff to wash their hands and I would find this infantilizing. Besides, how many more tags, badges, and keys can they carry on their person and how many more beeping apparatuses are we going. Less expensive is to continuously insure that the hand sanitizers are everywhere and dispensers filled and paper towel dispensers work and also are filled. We are already seeing a change in hand hygiene practices BECAUSE we have done a lot of education, have posters with changing graphics posted, and supervisors who remind their staff, on the spot, in the various situations. It’s like training your own children about washing their hands before dinner time…after a while they do it without the reminder…and the soap and towel is there everytime they go to the sink. Thank you for the opportunity to express my point of view on the subject…I am the Program Evaluator at our facility, responsible for compliance with Joint Commission standards and CMS regulations. My motto is “Staff always want to do a good job.”
Sue | Jun 17, 2009 | Reply
I think it is a sad state of affairs when we have to go to such extremes to get highly intelligent and educated people to do a simple task that should be fundamental to good hygiene practices. But alas, it is so. I believe the mentality of “doctors are gentlemen and gentlemen’s hands are clean” persists in healthcare. I say bring on Big Brother and show me the monitors.
Rachel | Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
I find it frustrating that we seem to neeed systems such as this and we cannot hold our employees to be accountable and use good hand hygiene. This enables the behavior by taking the thinking out of it. I like the comment that this is a Pavlovian method. Healthcare workers will not need to think anymore as more systems like this are put in place.
Michelle | Jun 28, 2009 | Reply
I thoughly enjoyed all of the above comments and agree with all, but have sadly worked with people that feel it is not neccesary to wash their hands regularly and I was working in plebotomy. It would scare me to see a certain individual go through the entire day with wash her hand only when she went to eat. So with some people such things are neccesary especially with hepatitis and the likes about. Thank you.