Empowering Nurse Leadership to Take the Lead on Patient Safety
Nurse leadership forms the backbone of nursing teams and care delivery, and the impact of their actions has long-lasting effects on healthcare...
3 min read
Performance Health Partners July 14, 2023
The Center for Disease Control estimates that on any given day, 1 in 31 hospital patients has an HAI or healthcare-associated infection.1 Up to 70 percent of these infections could be prevented if health care workers followed recommended protocols, including hand hygiene and infection control. 2
Although many HAIs are preventable, their high prevalence leads to harmful effects on patients’ physical, mental, and financial health—and cost billions of dollars in added expenses to the healthcare system.
The Center for Disease Control estimates that HAIs cost between $28 billion - $45 billion in the United States each year.3
Hand hygiene is the simplest and most effective method of preventing the transmission of infection among patients and healthcare workers.4 When properly implemented, clean hands can significantly reduce HAIs and their devastating effects on a patient’s physical, mental, and financial health.
To minimize the risk of patient harm and promote a positive care experience, all healthcare providers should follow a system of effective and timely hand hygiene procedures for infection prevention.
Below are three ways for healthcare organizations to effectively tackle hand hygiene and infection control:
Studies show that on average, healthcare personnel clean their hands less than half of the times they should.5
Factors influencing noncompliance with hand hygiene protocol vary between organizations and among different levels of professional healthcare workers. Factors can include4:
Healthcare workers may be unaware of proper safety protocols; for instance, many believe that wearing gloves eliminates the need for hand hygiene.5 Additionally, under-resourced facilities may lack sufficient numbers of sinks or easily accessible soap and alcohol-based hand rub solutions to perform effective hand hygiene.5
It is important for healthcare organizations to identify the factors that may be preventing compliance in order to establish a hand hygiene process that promotes patient safety.
A 2014 University of Pennsylvania study found that health workers washed their hands less when their workloads became more intense and toward the end of their shifts when they’re mentally drained.7
Healthcare workers should always be aware of how and when to perform proper hand hygiene. Employees and staff should keep in mind the “four moments of hand hygiene” for determining when to cleanse hands 8:
Effective hand hygiene practices for surgical procedures include performing a hand scrub with antimicrobial soap and water. Unless hands are visibly soiled, using an alcohol-based hand rub is preferred for most nonsurgical procedures or other clinical situations. A solution containing 60% to 95% alcohol is the most effective method for killing deadly germs and bacteria on the hands. 9 This solution requires less time and is more easily accessible than handwashing sinks.
Additionally, products should always be stored and dispensed according to the manufacturer’s instructions, so as not to become contaminated with harmful microorganisms. 9
Guidelines published by The Joint Commission in 2023 has updated critical practices in hand hygiene. They include:
Following a system of specific procedures for hand hygiene is critically important for reducing HAIs and improving patient outcomes.
Utilizing a technology solution for hand hygiene and infection control rounding offers a streamlined process for reporting, follow-up management, and tracking trends over time. A central channel for communication makes it easier for care teams to conduct hand hygiene observations across departments, which aids in increasing compliance.
Software solutions are useful for measuring an organization’s current level of hand hygiene performance and directing leadership teams to quickly formulate corrective action plans. Reporting systems also allow for real-time dashboards and analytics, which makes it easier for care teams to identify areas of improvement and reduce the number of healthcare-associated infections that occur in the future.
By practicing effective hand hygiene, healthcare organizations can improve the overall patient experience and get closer to zero harm.
With increasing rates of healthcare-associated infections affecting patients every day, the importance of proper hand hygiene in healthcare organizations is clear. With Performance Health Partners Solutions, healthcare organizations can access the data they need to improve compliance with safety guidelines while reducing overall patient harm.
References:
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