New badges track which staffers are — and aren’t — washing their hands
February 8, 2010 by Carol KatarskyPosted in: Health care/Treatment trends, Hospital Management, Human Resources/Staff management, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Practice Management
Following hand-washing protocols is one of the easiest — and most often ignored — ways to keep infections from spreading. But staffers may balk at the newest solution to this problem.
One company, Proventix, is testing a new type of badge to track hand-washing. Staffers such as nurses wear the badges which track when they enter patient rooms and whether or not they washed their hands upon entering or leaving.
The system is set up so that frequently non-compliant workers can get a text or e-mail reminding them to wash up.
Predictably, some workers dislike the idea of having their movements tracked so closely. And there’s still no data to show that such close monitoring actually changes how workers behave while on the clock.
What do you think: Is the privacy intrusion worth it to improve patient safety? Or is this a step too far? Sound off in the comments.
Tags: hand washing, hospital-acquired infections, patient care, patient safety, privacy, Proventix
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February 11th, 2010 at 10:16 am
Nt an invasion. If it was your child or parent – you’d want those who were not following hand washing procedures to be counseled.
February 17th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
Wash your hands! This not an invasion of privacy but a safety measure. Safety should outweigh privacy.
February 17th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
If hospital employees are endangering patient health by failing to do something as simple as washing hands, they should be replaced by people who will follow correct sanitary procedures. If they do not bother to wash, what else are they careless about?