HAND HYGIENE COMPLIANCE MONITORING

• US 20100315244A1
• Filed: 05/25/2010
• Published: 12/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ecolab USA Incorporated (Ecolab, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Ecolab USA Incorporated (Ecolab, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tokhtuev, Eugene, Owen, Christopher J., Littau, Cheryl A., Skirda, Anatoly, Schilling, Paul S., Slobodyan, Viktor, Erickson, Joseph P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,395,515 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/603
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/245 Reminder of hygiene compliance policies, e.g. of washing hands
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

A system and associated processes monitor hand hygiene compliance. The system includes hand hygiene product dispensers positioned within areas of concern (AOC) in a facility in which hand hygiene events are to be monitored. The dispensers detect dispense events initiated at the dispenser and transmit a dispense event signal indicative that a dispense event occurred along with dispenser identification information. The system also includes a plurality of compliance badges, each worn by a different person in the facility. Each compliance badge receives dispense event signals corresponding dispenser identification information associated with dispense events initiated by the wearer of the compliance badge. The badges store dispense event records associated with each dispense event initiated by the wearer and thus keep track of all dispense events initiated by the wearer of the compliance badge. One or more data gathering stations positioned at various locations through the facility receive the dispense event information from the individual badges when they come within range. The dispense event information may then be transferred to a local or remote computer for analysis and reporting on hand hygiene events taking place within the facility.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a motion detector module, associated with an area of concern (AOC) within a healthcare facility, that detects an AOC entry event when a healthcare worker enters the AOC, detects healthcare worker identification information associated with the healthcare worker, and transmits AOC entry event data concerning the AOC entry event;

at least one hand hygiene product dispenser, positioned within the AOC, that senses a dispense event initiated by the healthcare worker, detects the healthcare worker identification information associated with the healthcare worker, and transmits dispenser data concerning the dispense event;

a zone emitter that generates a protection zone around a patient-centered control point within the AOC; and

a compliance badge uniquely associated with the healthcare worker that stores the healthcare worker identification information, the compliance badge comprising;

a first receiver that receives the AOC entry event data and the dispenser data;

a second receiver that detects a protection zone entry event when the healthcare worker enters into the protection zone; and

a controller that analyzes the detected protection zone entry and the dispenser data to monitor hand hygiene compliance of the healthcare worker.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein motion detector broadcasts a wake-up signal within the AOC when an AOC entry event is detected, and wherein the first receiver receives the wake-up signal and the controller activates the second receiver upon receipt of the wake-up signal.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the motion detector broadcasts compliance rules within the AOC when an AOC entry event is detected, and wherein the first receiver receives the compliance rules and the controller stores the compliance rules in a memory.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the patient-centered control point includes at least one a patient bed, a chemotherapy station, a treatment area, a surgical table, and an examination table.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller analyzes the detected protection zone entry event and the dispenser data in combination with compliance rules to monitor hand hygiene compliance of the healthcare worker.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the zone emitter further generates zone emitter identification information that is received by the second receiver when the compliance badge enters into the ultrasonic protection zone.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the compliance badge further comprises a memory that stores compliance rules used by the controller to analyze the detected protection zone entry event and the dispenser data to monitor hand hygiene compliance of the healthcare worker.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the compliance rules include a zone interaction rule that defines a zone interaction time within which the healthcare worker must enter the protection zone after the dispense event is detected in order for the dispense event and the entry event to qualify as a compliant hand hygiene event.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the compliance badge further detects a protection zone exit event when the compliance badge exits the protection zone and detects a protection zone re-entry event when the compliance badge re-enters the protection zone, and wherein the compliance rules include a loitering rule that defines an allowable period of time between the protection zone exit event and the protection zone re-entry event.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein if the re-entry event occurs within the allowable period of time of the exit event, the controller determines that a compliant hand hygiene event occurred, wherein if the re-entry event does not occur within the allowable period of time of the exit event, the controller determines that a non-compliant hand hygiene event occurred, and wherein if the compliance badge detects an entry event into a different protection zone after the protection zone exit event, the controller determines that a non-compliant hand hygiene event occurred.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein the compliance badge further includes a zone interaction clock that tracks the zone interaction time as defined by the zone interaction rule, and wherein the controller resets and starts the zone interaction clock upon detection of a dispense event.

12. The system of claim 8 wherein the controller detects the protection zone entry event and determines whether the protection zone entry event occurred within the zone interaction time, and wherein the controller detects a compliant hand hygiene event if the protection zone entry event occurred within the zone interaction time.

13. The system of claim 7 wherein the compliance rules include a loitering rule, wherein the controller sets a loitering clock if a compliant hand hygiene event is detected, and wherein the loitering clock is started when the healthcare worker exits the protection zone.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the controller detects a non-compliant hand hygiene event if the protection zone entry event occurred within the zone interaction time.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the compliance badge further includes at least one of an audible alarm or a visual alarm, and wherein the controller activates at least one of the audible alarm of the visual alarm when a non-compliant hand hygiene event is detected.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein motion detector continually monitors the AOC to detect motion within the AOC and periodically broadcasts a wake-up signal within the AOC for as long as motion is detected, the first receiver receives the wake-up signal and the controller activates the second receiver upon receipt of the wake-up signal, and the controller further powers-down the second receiver when the wake-up signal has not been received for a predetermined period of time.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller generates badge data corresponding to the hand hygiene compliance of the healthcare worker.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the badge data includes a data gauge that indicates a current amount of data stored by the compliance badge.

19. The system of claim 1 further including a data gathering station outside of the area of concern that initiates automatic download of the badge data from the compliance badge.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the at least one data gathering station further transmits the badge data to a local hospital computer.

21. The system of claim 19 wherein the controller enters a data accumulation mode after all of the badge data is transferred to the data gathering station and ignores automatic badge data download requests from the data gathering station until the data gauge indicates that the minimum data level has been obtained or until a maximum time period without badge data download has elapsed.

22. The system of claim 1, further comprising a data gathering station that receives badge data from each of a plurality of compliance badges and transmits the badge data to a local computer.

23. The system of claim 22, further comprising a server computer that receives the badge data from the local computer via the internet.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the server computer further includes a reporting application that generates reports concerning hand hygiene compliance at the hospital.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the server computer further permits users to remotely obtain the reports via the internet.

26. The system of claim 1 further including a server computer that receives badge data corresponding to a plurality of compliance badges each uniquely associated with a different one a plurality of healthcare workers in a healthcare facility, the server computer comprising:

an analysis application that analyzes the badge data; and

a reporting application that generates reports that characterize hand hygiene compliance at the healthcare facility based on analysis of the badge data.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein the analysis application analyzes the badge data to determine whether the healthcare facility satisfied facility-wide hand hygiene compliance targets.

28. The system of claim 26 wherein the analysis application determines whether an individual healthcare worker satisfied individual hand hygiene compliance targets.

29. The system of claim 26 wherein the analysis application determines whether a healthcare worker type satisfied the hand hygiene compliance targets.

30. The system of claim 26 wherein the reporting application generates reports characterizing whether hand hygiene compliance targets for the healthcare facility were satisfied, wherein the reporting application generates reports identifying whether hand hygiene compliance targets for an individual healthcare worker were satisfied, and wherein the analysis application further identifies compliant hand hygiene events and non-compliant hand hygiene events at the healthcare facility.

31. A system comprising:

at least one hand hygiene product dispenser, positioned within an area of concern AOC within a healthcare facility, that senses a dispense event initiated by the healthcare worker and transmits dispenser data concerning the dispense event;

a zone emitter that generates a protection zone around a patient-centered control point within the AOC; and

a compliance badge uniquely associated with the healthcare worker, the compliance badge comprising;

a first receiver that receives the dispenser data;

a second receiver that detects a protection zone entry event when the healthcare worker enters into the protection zone; and

a controller that analyzes the detected protection zone entry and the dispenser data to monitor hand hygiene compliance of the healthcare worker.

32. A system comprising:

at least one hand hygiene product dispenser, positioned within an area of concern AOC within a healthcare facility, that senses a dispense event initiated by the healthcare worker and transmits dispenser data concerning the dispense event;

a zone emitter that generates a protection zone around a patient-centered control point within the AOC; and

a compliance badge uniquely associated with the healthcare worker, wherein the compliance badge receives the dispenser data and detects a protection zone entry event when the healthcare worker enters into the protection zone, wherein the compliance badge further comprises a controller that analyzes the detected protection zone entry and the dispenser data to monitor hand hygiene compliance of the healthcare worker.