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Gus Iversen, Editor in Chief | October 13, 2014
From the August 2014 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Other hospitals are addressing handwashing compliance through automation. Programs are being introduced so health care professionals don’t need to remember to wash their hands, instead they are reminded electronically by wearable technology. These programs also provide clinics with useful feedback in terms of departmental and individual compliance rates. A study published in the 2014 issue of the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) indicates that at least one such program, the DebMed GMS, has yielded positive results.
At the core of DebMed’s algorithm is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Five Moments for Hand Hygiene: Before touching a patient, before clean / aseptic procedure, after body fluid exposure risk, after touching a patient, and after touching patient surroundings. The frequency of DebMed’s reminders is contingent on variables such as hospital type (teaching vs. non-teaching), hospital size, and unit type (medical-surgical, critical care or emergency department).
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Redefining cleanliness
While hands represent a big part of the problem, bacteria lives on doorknobs, countertops, tray tables, telephones, bedside table, the tug cord on lamps, privacy drapes, water pitchers, and virtually every other surface in a hospital — not to mention the air itself. For years, bleach and other sometimes toxic chemicals have been the main defense against germs, but today companies are manufacturing UV disinfectant systems that improve on standard practices while being more eco friendly.
Aerobiotix is now producing one of the first air filtration systems that not only recycles air, but actually kills and quarantines bacteria, viruses, spores, and other microbes in the process. DOTmed HealthCare Business News spoke to Dr. David Kirschman, founder and CEO of Aerobiotix, to get a better understanding of the technology. “In Europe, they have begun to adopt certain standards [of air quality],” said Kirschman, “but in the United States, we only have very basic guidelines as far as air exchanges, which are by no means a guarantee of air quality.”
According to the Aerobiotix website, international guidelines have recommended airborne microbial levels in an operating suite should be below 10 Colony-forming units per cubic meter of air, (CFU/m3) during procedures. The WHO recommends below 50 CFU/m3 for all departments in health care facilities, and yet studies have found airborne microbial contamination in the operating suites of modern medical centers ranging from 50 to 250 CFU/m3. “We’ve done studies where we looked at viable particulates using advanced methods like laser immunofluorescence, which detect living cells, and we’ve found very large amounts of airborne viables and airborne bacteria in ORs while surgery is going on. Well-above European standards, despite air exchanges occurring,” said Kirschman. “Considering between 10 to 20 percent of HAIs are airborne, this feels like an issue that is kind of going unaddressed.”
