Evaluation: Ecolab Individual-Level Hand Hygiene Compliance Monitoring System
April 25, 2018 | Evaluations & Guidance
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- The Ecolab system provides hand hygiene compliance rates at an individual, unit, group, or possibly facility level for clinicians who have worn system badges and used monitored dispensers within a care area during a specified time (e.g., hour, day, week, or month).
- Hand hygiene compliance rates are calculated as the number of hand hygiene events divided by the number of hand hygiene opportunities.
- Hand hygiene events are assessed using Ecolab Nexa model manual or automatic hand soap or alcohol sanitizer dispensers with integrated sensors. The sensors detect when a badged user activates the dispenser and transmit that information through the Ecolab HHCMS network.
- Hand hygiene opportunities are assessed by sensors within a patient care area that are attached under a bed, stretcher, or crib. The Ecolab system operates by creating a zone of radio-frequency (RF) radiation around a bed or stretcher to define a near-patient monitoring zone. Ecolab badges are detected when they enter a patient zone and thus there is an opportunity for the user to perform hand hygiene.
- The Ecolab system can be configured to monitor single-patient rooms or multipatient open bays.
- Major device components and software features:
- Badge configuration POD with badge programming software that is used by administrators to assign badges to users and customize hand hygiene timing and alerts
- Badges assigned to individual clinicians that each have the following:
- RF emitter to communicate with RF receivers in monitored Ecolab dispensers and bed beacons.
- Battery that will last approximately one year (lithium coin cell battery).
- Accelerometer to detect badge motion.
- Three LED lights near the top center of each badge. Light color (green, yellow-orange, or red) conveys the hand hygiene compliance status of a clinician. LED brightness can be set to high, low, or off.
- Audible tones for hand hygiene compliance alerting. Badge alert audio volume can be set to high, low, or off.
- Beacons (i.e., sensors) within Nexa model manual and automatic dispensers that detect when a user activates a manual or automatic dispenser.