A new study, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, shows that electronic hand hygiene monitoring improves compliance with the World Health Organization’s five moments for hand hygiene recommendations. Everyone knows the importance of good hand hygiene in the healthcare setting, but there isn’t much research connecting better hygiene to improved patient outcomes.
The study, conducted between July 2012 and March 2015, involved electronic monitoring of hand hygiene with technology from DebMed rather than direct observation. Sensors were attached to hand-sanitizing and hand-washing units in 23 inpatient facilities. Each time one of the units was used, the information was relayed back to a server. An algorithm calculated whether or not the staff was following the WHO’s recommended standards.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
The study found an increase in hand hygiene compliance of 25.5 percent, a decrease in hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus of 42 percent and reduction in costs of $434,000.
Some estimates say that MRSA causes as many as 80,000 infections and 11,000 deaths in the United States each year, and cost as much as $4.2 billion annually. Hand hygiene is an effective way of reducing MRSA because the bacteria are often transferred on hands.
According to Connie Steed, the director of infection prevention at Greenville Health System in Greenville, South Carolina, and study co-author, this study is the first she has seen that “directly correlates using hand hygiene electronic monitoring with reducing infection and improving patient outcomes.” The gold standard for improving hand hygiene has been direct observation. However, observation bias, also known as the Hawthorne effect, means that people tend to change their behavior when they are being observed, Steed explained.
Although the importance of hand hygiene has been understood since the 1800s, it has been a challenge to measure its effects, Steed said. “The importance of hand hygiene is frequently overlooked, and it’s a simplistic process that doesn’t cost much money but can have a tremendous influence,” she added.
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
