Hand Hygiene Goes High-Tech

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More on Hospital Acquired Infections with a Basic Review
As pressure to reduce infection rates builds, many hospitals are reevaulating their hand hygiene protocols. Of course, as a bone and joint surgeon, this was an important clinical concern to me and my patients. And, as a health economist, this is a vital issue of cost control and health insurance today.
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But, according to Jeff  Ferenc, “secret shoppers” and other self-reporting programs can lead  to inaccuracies, and many hospitals are turning to a slew of new electronic  surveillance products that give clinicians automatic hand-washing reminders that then verify compliance.

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6 Responses

  1. ME-P

    A very important topic for hand, foot and extremity surgeons, orthopods and all surgeons, really.

    Dotty
    [Infection control nurse]

    Like

  2. Cut down on infections to reduce hospital readmissions

    Cutting down on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) could reduce readmissions, according to a study published in the June issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

    http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/665725

    Ya think!

    Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA

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  3. Serious Surgical Site Infection Rates in Outpatient Settings

    In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers used AHRQ’s Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project databases to analyze serious surgical site infections (SSIs) rates following surgery in hospital-owned ambulatory (outpatient) settings in eight states.

    SSIs are among the most common type of healthcare-associated infection (HAI). The authors found that 877 patients in the eight states, or a rate of just over 3 (3.09) of every 1,000 patients, who had ambulatory surgery were treated within 14 days for a SSI that required hospitalization. At 30 days, the rate increased to nearly 5 (4.84) of every 1,000 patients. These data did not include procedures performed in physicians’ offices or freestanding facilities not owned by hospitals.

    Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

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  4. Ban the Handshake in Healthcare Proposed

    Hand hygiene compliance is the key to infection prevention efforts, but the hand-to-hand transfer of infectious bacteria remains a common public health hazard. Is it time to ban handshakes in healthcare settings?

    In an editorial published online in JAMA earlier this month, 3 clinicians from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles propose the prohibition of this familiar greeting between providers and patients in order to prevent passing pathogens, reduce infection rates, and ensure patient safety.

    According to their proposal, hospitals, surgical centers, and office practices would be designated “handshake-free zones,” in which open-handed waves, bowed heads, hands over the heart and yoga-style, “Namaste” gestures would become the custom. Their caution is not entirely far-fetched. Last year, researchers from the West Virginia University School of Medicine found that a fist-bump between providers was less likely to transfer bacteria than a handshake.

    The California clinicians admit that eliminating handshakes won’t be easy, but argue that it deserves further study.

    Source: David Bernard, Outpatient Surgery [5/27/14]

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  5. Hospital Hand Hygiene Safe Practice Compliance

    According to the Leapfrog Group, the following is test score information (Maximum 30 points) from 2011-2013 based on a safe hand hygiene practice test for hospitals in urban and rural areas.

    Urban:
    2011 – 27.0 points
    2012 – 27.5 points
    2013 – 27.6 points

    Rural:
    2011 – 23.9 points
    2012 – 24.2 points
    2013 – 25.5 points

    Urban hospitals outperformed rural ones, but both saw an increase each year with 2011 being the base year.

    Source: Leapfrog Group

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  6. Hand Hygiene Compliance is 49.3% for Healthcare Workers Observed Covertly

    The American Journal of Infection Control recently published a study on hand hygiene compliance (HHC) among healthcare workers. Here are some key findings from the report:

    • Hand hygiene compliance was 91% for health workers observed overtly.
    • For workers who were observed covertly, hand hygiene compliance was 49.3%.
    • HHC based on covert observation increased to 66.9% after an intervention.

    Source: American Journal of Infection Control, December 17, 2018

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