Study proves accuracy of DebMed monitoring system in measuring hand hygiene practices

Published: 6-Jun-2014

Only monitoring hand washing as staff go in and out of patient rooms puts patients at risk of infection


DebMed's monitoring system used to calculate whether or not healthcare workers are washing their hands as frequently as they should has been proven accurate in research published in the American Journal of Infection Control(AJIC).

The researchers at Greenville Health System, Greenville, SC, in the US, also state that healthcare workers only washing their hands on entry and exit of patient rooms, which is a common practice, puts patients at risk.

According to DebMed, the latest study validates the data from the HOW2 Benchmark Study published in 2011, which benchmarked the expected number of times staff should wash their hands, based on hospital type (teaching hospitals vs. non-teaching hospitals) and size, as well as the unit staff work on, such as an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or the Emergency Department (ED).

Healthcare workers only washing their hands on entry and exit of patient rooms puts patients at risk

These benchmarks are based on the WHO 'Five Moments for Hand Hygiene' guidelines and are believed to be a higher clinical standard than simply washing hands before and after contact with a patient. The WHO guidelines require staff also to wash their hands before an aseptic task, such as starting an IV, after exposure to body fluids, and after touching patients' surroundings, such as the bed curtain or bed rail.

The DebMed electronic hand hygiene compliance monitoring system uses these benchmarks, along with hospital-specific data such as the number of patients on the ward at any given time, as well as the nurse-to-patient staffing ratio, to predict accurately the number of opportunities for staff to wash their hands, which adjusts as conditions on the ward change. DebMed refers to this as the 'Diller Rule', after one of the researchers, Dr Tom Diller, which states that the number of hand hygiene opportunities can be accurately predicted in any healthcare environment by taking into account the frequency of patient care and the number of patients a nurse is caring for.

The researchers concluded that 'a critical problem with the entry/exit method is that there is significant risk of recontamination of healthcare workers hands while inside the patient room. The WHO method has been promoted to account for this risk, and we believe that this methodology is preferable'.

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