Verbal hand-hygiene reminders In hospitals may curb infections

Research on a voice-based electronic hand hygiene monitoring systems showed a 61.4 percent decrease in healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs), across 10 hospitals, according to an article on the Healio website. The findings were reported at a recent conference for the Association for Professionals in Infection Control Epidemiology.

The system includes an audible reminder in the form of a human voice that reminds healthcare facility staff to sanitize their hands. Bluetooth technology in a badge worn by the healthcare workers communicates with IoT sensors affixed to soap and sanitizer dispensers in patient care areas. 

When the staffer walks into or out of a patient’s room, the IoT sensors detect that. Th worker has a certain number of seconds to dispense sanitizer or soap. If they don’t,  a "Real-Time Voice Reminder" is triggered. The standard reminder is an audio file of a female voice that says, “Please sanitize.” 

In rooms where a patient has C. difficile, the voice changes to “soap and water only” upon the staffer's exit, since sanitizer does not kill C. diff. spores. 

Read the article.