Hand Hygiene

Your Health is in Your Hospital's Hands Proper hand hygiene is the number one way to prevent healthcare-associated infections, yet hospital workers often don't clean their hands as frequently as they should when caring for patients. 38.7% Impact of Poor Hand Hygiene The World Health Organization (WHO) reports the average hand hygiene compliance rate of healthcare workers is only 38.7% 1/20 This equates to $45 billion in extra costs annually 1.7M According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in 20 patients will get a healthcare-associated infection, resulting in almost 2 million infections and infections 99,000 deaths annually in the U.S. alone. 99,000 deaths 6 = 1 billion Improving Patient Safety The most commonly used method to track hand hygiene compliance is called direct observation, which involves someone watching the behavior of healthcare workers. Advances in technology have resulted in more accurate alternatives to direct observation through electronic monitoring systems. 150 infection prevention experts surveyed The majority of hospitals are using direct observation even though they are not satisfied with the reliability of the data. 96% 93% of those surveyed have heard of electronic monitoring. believe that electronic monitoring is more reliable than direct observation, yet they are still using direct observation. 88% 31% Only 31% are using the WHO Five Moments for Hand Hygiene, even though it is a higher clinical standard than only cleaning hands before and after patient care. deb med) Engineering Hand Hygiene Compliance $45B