METHOD AND SYSTEM TO MONITOR HAND HYGIENE COMPLIANCE

• US 20120055986A1
• Filed: 11/09/2011
• Published: 03/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Allegheny-Singer Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Allegheny-Singer Research Institute
• Inventors: Sahud, Andrew Graham
• Granted Patent: US 8,448,848 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/245 Reminder of hygiene compliance policies, e.g. of washing hands

Abstract

A hand hygiene compliance monitoring system includes a portable data reader having a display and a memory, a portal trigger configured to recognize an entrance event in response to a person with the reader entering a room, and a dispenser trigger configured to cause the reader to record a dispensing event in the memory when the person with the reader causes a cleaning dispenser to dispense cleanser. The display shows feedback relating to the person'"'"'s compliance with hand hygiene requirements.

Claims

1. A hand hygiene compliance monitoring system comprising:

a portable data reader having a display and a memory;

a portal trigger configured to recognize an entrance event in response to a person with the reader entering a room; and

a dispenser trigger configured to cause the reader to record a dispensing event in the memory when the person with the reader causes a cleaning dispenser to dispense cleanser,

wherein the display displays a number indicating hand hygiene compliance of the person.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the number comprises at least one of a number of dispensing events and a number of entrance events.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the data reader is a component of a pager or an identification tag.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the data reader further comprises a transmitter configured to transmit data from the memory in response to external interrogation.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the data reader further comprises a port configured to allow download of data from the memory.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising an additional data reader also comprising a display and a memory, wherein each reader only records a dispensing event associated with the person having the corresponding reader.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the data reader comprises an electronic lock;

the portal trigger is configured to generate a first electronic key when the person enters the room and to activate the lock such that the reader records the entrance event; and

the dispenser trigger is configured to generate a second electronic key to activate the lock such that the reader records the dispensing event when the person causes the dispenser to dispense cleanser.

8. A method of monitoring hand hygiene compliance, comprising:

in a system comprising at least one dispenser having a dispenser trigger, and a portable data reader having a memory and a display;

activating the data reader by recording an entrance event in response to a person with the data reader entering a room;

causing the data reader to record a dispensing event in the memory in response to the dispenser dispensing cleanser; and

displaying on the display real-time feedback regarding hand hygiene compliance of the person.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the entrance event causes the data reader to enter an activated state.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising, before the data reader enters into the activated state:

causing, by that dispenser'"'"'s dispenser trigger, the data reader to enter an enabled state and record a dispensing event in the memory in response to one of the dispensers dispensing cleanser.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising, after the data reader enters into the enabled state:

if the data reader remains in the enabled state for a predetermined period without recording an entrance event, automatically deactivating the data reader.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein causing the reader to record a dispensing event while the portal trigger is in the activated state causes the data reader to enter a finalized state.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising, after the data reader enters the activated state:

if the data reader remains in the activated state for a predetermined period without recording a dispensing event, automatically timing out the data reader so that it records the entrance event without recording a corresponding dispensing event.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising electronically interrogating the memory.

15. The method of claim 8, further comprising downloading data from the memory.

16. The method of claim 8, wherein the feedback comprises at least one of a number of dispensing events and a number of entrance events.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising reporting the number to an authorized individual when the number falls below a predetermined threshold.

18. A method of monitoring hand hygiene compliance, comprising:

in a system comprising at least one dispenser and a data reader, the data reader having a memory and a display;

causing the data reader to record a dispensing event in the memory in response to a person with the reader causing the dispenser to dispense cleanser; and

displaying, on the display, a number indicating the hand hygiene compliance of the person.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising causing the reader to recognize an entrance event when the person with the reader enters a room with a portal trigger.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the number comprises at least one of a number of dispensing events and a number of entrance events.