Hand Hygiene Monitoring Systems Help with Compliance

AKRON, Ohio — Earlier this year, the CRE bacteria scare reminded hospitals of the importance of hand-washing compliance. At the same time, several companies launched hand sanitation systems that were tested at hospitals across the nation, and the results are encouraging.

Gojo Industries, the inventors of Purell hand sanitizer, headquartered in Akron, Ohio, released the findings from a research study the company conducted at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, at the APUC 2013 Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., in June. The company used the Gojo Smartlink Activity Monitoring System to test how the electronic compliance activity monitory system would affect hand hygiene compliance rates.

The research was conducted from June 2012 to September 2012 and showed a 92 percent increase in hand hygiene compliance rates (from 16.5 percent at baseline to 31.7 percent) when an electronic monitoring system was used. During the post-study period, the rate decreased to 25.8 percent, which was still above the baseline.

The Gojo monitoring system was installed to monitor all patient room entries and exits and all hand hygiene uses from the Gojo touch-free soap or Purell hand sanitizer dispensers. Compliance was measured as a number of uses compared to a number of opportunities and included everyone in the hospital, not just health care workers. During the study, a comprehensive hand hygiene program for health care workers, patients and visitors was implemented. Plus, a hand hygiene improvement goal, leadership support and staff feedback opportunities were also established.

The Associated Press reported that SSM St. Mary’s Health Center in Richmond Heights, Mo., has been testing a system developed by Biovigil Inc., based in Ann Arbor, Mich. Like the Gojo system, the Biovigil system also tracks the successes and failures of each hand-cleaning opportunity. It uses a flashing light on a badge that turns green when hands are clean and red if they’re not. The two Biovigil units at St. Mary’s have had few failures. One unit had 97 percent hand hygiene success and the other had 99 percent success.

HyGreen Inc. developed two Hand Hygiene Reminder Systems, which are installed at seven hospitals. One uses a similar method as the Biovigil system, which detects alcohol on the hands, but also includes an active reminding system. Unclean hands create a warning buzz, and if the buzz sounds three times by a single worker, that worker is marked for noncompliance. The other method allows a worker to interact with a patient after the touch of a sanitizer dispenser. If the worker goes to the patient bedside without clean hands, the buzz warnings begin. According to the Associated Press article, “hospital infections have dropped 66 percent at units of Miami Children’s Hospital where the badge system has been implemented.”