Background: Electronic monitoring systems (EMS) for measuring hand hygiene performance have many advantages. Previous studies have shared results of EMS in individual units or single institutions, without many details of implementation. The implementation steps for house wide use of an EMS in 12 hospitals are described.
Methods: Hospital resources used in this 3-year implementation included those for installation activities, initial education about the components and function of the EMS, evaluation of healthcare professionals' processes related to hand hygiene, routine data feedback in a variety of methods, continuous coaching and training on the EMS, incentive programs and strong leadership support.
Results: Continual process improvement activities resulted in a 23% increase in hand hygiene performance, from 53% at baseline, to 76%.
Discussion/conclusion: Implementation of an EMS required many resources beyond those for the technology, but resulted in measurable improvement in hand hygiene performance.
Keywords: Electronic monitoring; Hand washing.
Copyright © 2022 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.