SYSTEM FOR MONITORING AND RECORDING HAND HYGIENE PERFORMANCE

• US 20140279603A1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: GOJO Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: GOJO Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: ORTIZ, HENRY MICHAEL, CAMBIER, TIMOTHY MICHAEL, WARTHMAN, SHAWN A.
• Application Number:
  US13/840,835
• Publication Number:
  US 20140279603A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/317
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/245 Reminder of hygiene compliance policies, e.g. of washing hands
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

A system for monitoring and recording hand hygiene performance is configured to monitor and record information generated by the operation of dispensers to assess behavior of a group to identify overall hygiene performance. The system includes a plurality of wireless communication devices, with a first number of the wireless communication devices being disposed within or adjacent to dispensers and operatively configured for sensing, monitoring, and reporting information about the status and operation of the dispensers. A hierarchal communication network for access to a central host database, a data processor, and a hygiene management software application operatively configured to create hygiene management reports of hand hygiene rate metrics based upon the monitored dispenser data and a method of providing a user interface. Based on the various computed hand hygiene rates, a hand hygiene improvement metric that identifies the improvement in hand hygiene rates over time is also calculated by the system.

Claims

1. A hand hygiene rate calculation and hand hygiene performance feedback system comprising:

a computer network with application software with an application software administrative center operative on the computer network, which allows an application software user to direct the application software to interface with and query data or databases at sites or locations on the network where raw hygiene data is produced or stored, and with an application software user interface, which enables the application software user to enter or choose from a list a reference hand hygiene compliance rate, a comparison hand hygiene compliance rate, and an elapsed time period, such that execution of the application software will cause mathematical operations to be performed upon raw hygiene data from locations queried as selected by the applications software user, wherein the system outputs a hand hygiene improvement metric calculated as the difference between the reference hand hygiene compliance rate and the comparison hand hygiene compliance rate, that is divided by the elapsed time period, wherein the application software is configurable via the application software administration center to address, interface with and query databased raw hygiene data residing anywhere on the computer network that the application software is located, and which raw hygiene data contains time stamp and hygiene event data, which includes the number of times a particular soap or sanitizer dispenser or group of particular soap or sanitizer dispensers have been used, and is stored in a publicly available database format, and wherein the application software is configurable to perform mathematical operations on raw hygiene data, such that only the raw data required to assess the reference and comparison hand hygiene compliance rates of a group of individuals or team of co-workers or personnel from which the raw data originated is operated on, the raw data includes time stamped hand hygiene event data, which includes the number of times a particular soap or sanitizer dispenser or group of particular soap or sanitizer dispensers have been used, wherein an individual or individual personnel identification information and any other information which links individual or individual personnel identification to the raw hygiene data is necessarily excluded from mathematical operation by the application software.

2. A hand hygiene rate calculation and hand hygiene performance feedback system comprising:

a computer network with application software with an application software administrative center operative on the computer network, which allows an application software user to direct the application software to interface with and query data or databases at sites or locations on the network where raw hygiene data is produced or stored, and with an application software user interface, which enables the application software user to enter or choose from an actual compliance percentage, a baseline percentage, such that execution of the application software will cause mathematical operations to be performed upon raw hygiene data from locations queried as selected by the applications software user, wherein the system outputs a hand hygiene improvement metric calculated as the difference between the actual compliance percentage and the baseline percentage, wherein the actual compliance percentage is equal to the actual number of hygiene events divided by the actual number of hygiene opportunities, and the baseline percentage is equal to a base reference percentage value chosen by the user, wherein the application software is configurable to perform mathematical operations on raw hygiene data, such that only the raw data required to assess the actual hygiene events and actual hygiene opportunities of a group of individuals or team of co-workers or personnel from which the raw data originated is operated on, the raw data includes time stamped hand hygiene event data, which includes the number of times a particular soap or sanitizer dispenser or group of particular soap or sanitizer dispensers have been used, wherein an individual or individual personnel identification information and any other information which links individual or individual personnel identification to the raw hygiene data is necessarily excluded from mathematical operation by the application software.

3. A hand hygiene rate calculation and hand hygiene performance feedback system comprising:

a computer network with application software with an application software administrative center operative on the computer network, which allows an application software user to direct the application software to interface with and query data or databases at sites or locations on the network where raw hygiene data is produced or stored, and with an application software user interface, which enables the application software user to enter or choose from an actual compliance value, a baseline value, and a goal value, such that execution of the application software will cause mathematical operations to be performed upon raw hygiene data from locations queried as selected by the applications software user, wherein the system outputs a hand hygiene improvement metric calculated as the difference between the actual compliance value and the baseline value, which is divided by the difference between the goal value and the baseline value, wherein the actual compliance value is equal to the actual number of hygiene events divided by the actual number of hygiene opportunities, the baseline value is equal to a base reference percentage value selected by the user, and the goal value is a value selected by the user, wherein the application software is configurable to perform mathematical operations on raw hygiene data, such that only the raw data required to assess the actual hygiene events and actual hygiene opportunities of a group of individuals or team of co-workers or personnel from which the raw data originated is operated on, the raw data includes time stamped hand hygiene event data, which includes the number of times a particular soap or sanitizer dispenser or group of particular soap or sanitizer dispensers have been used, wherein an individual or individual personnel identification information and any other information which links individual or individual personnel identification to the raw hygiene data is necessarily excluded from mathematical operation by the application software.