Event highlighted advantages of electronic monitoring that provides feed-back for hand hygiene
The third OHMS-Forum attracted numerous experts on hospital hygiene and microbiology to the Compliance Campus in Issum. The June 7 forum invited guests to speak about „Hand hygiene Feedback to improve Compliance: Added value offered by an electronic monitoring system“.
Well-known speakers from the healthcare industry, used the OPHARDT hygiene Compliance Campus – a state-of-the-art training facility for hand hygiene – as the backdrop for communicating their experiences with hand hygiene in healthcare clinics.
Background information: Hand hygiene compliance is an increasingly important topic in healthcare settings, as compliance rates in hospitals and clinics often fall below industry requirements. Improvements in hand hygiene compliance are supported by permanent feedback on hand hygiene behaviours and the implementation of multi-modal intervention programmes. Electronic monitoring systems can provide hygiene professionals with reliable, unbiased data to inform improvement strategies.
The OPHARDT Hygiene Monitoring System® (OHMS) is the leading hand hygiene monitoring system within Europe, with the number of regular uses continuing to expand. Since it was first introduced onto the market in 2011, OHMS has collected data on more than 25 million hand disinfections.
Insights into hand hygiene in practice
In the first presentation of the day, Prof. Dr. Andreas Voss, Consultant for Clinical Microbiology at the Canisius-Wilhelma hospital and Professor for Infection Prevention at the University Hospital in Nimwegen described the present situation of hand hygiene in clinical routines and presented possible solutions to improve hand hygiene. He described the advantages offered by a visual feedback on hand hygiene activities.
According to Dr. Clemens Hoffmann, a senior doctor for interdisciplinary medicine at the Charité University Hospital in Berlin, permanent availability of valid data relating to hand hygiene behaviour and prompt feedback to clinical staff is of central importance. Dr. Clemens presented his experience with OHMS in the intensive care ward at the Charité.
Prof. Dr. Dr. Niels Rahe-Meyer, Senior Consultant for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine and President of the Hygiene Commission at the Franziskus Hospital in Bielefeld, illustrated the use of OHMS and the advantages it offers as a reliable source of data to measure and ensure that intervention measures are a success.
Clinical Studies to improve compliance using OHMS
What are the benefits of introducing a hand hygiene feedback monitoring system for any hospital ward? Hans Eberhardt, nursing manager of Infection Prevention at the Hospital of Heidenheim answered this question. Continuous, visual feedback on compliance, using OHMS in combination with a set target to improve hand hygiene, leads to a sustainable improvement, according to research at the Hospital.
Finally Dr. Nina Stock, microbiologist at the Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology at the Universtiy of Wiesbaden, presented her planned research using OHMS within the operating theatres of Würzburg’s University Hospital. The research programme plans to investigate which type of disinfection dispenser is preferred by hospital staff – a manual or sensor controlled, and therefore to investigate future purchasing decisions. According to Dr. Stock, OHMS is a perfect tool to provide reliable data in research projects.
Tour of the „Mini-Hospital“ completed the event
Plenty of time was left after the presentations for „networking“ and information exchange. Attendees participated in a tour of the Compliance Campus, which offered participants a chance to view other praxis-oriented systems and innovations to support sustainable improvements in hand hygiene.
Planning has already begun for next year’s Forum.
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