Technology that tracks caregivers’ hand hygiene practices is proving effective at reducing costs and increasing compliance, according to the results of a recent pilot study. Epidemiologists at the University of Iowa used new, energy-efficient “Zigbee” wireless technology to create the device. These new devices can help reduce the monetary and labor costs of manually recording data, while at the same time increasing compliance rates, according to investigators. Increasing compliance could reduce the occurrence of facility-acquired infections, they add. Results of the pilot program were presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America in San Diego.
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