Alabama hospital pilots RFID for hygiene compliance
The Princeton Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama is involved in a pilot study testing the use of RFID technology to monitor compliance with hand washing guidelines, according to a local news report.
Every health care worker wears an RFID badge that interacts with the facilities newly installed soap dispensing system, which also contains an RFID sensor. When the health care worker activates the dispenser, the date and time of activation is recorded.
A personal message about hand hygiene is displayed to the worker, with a hand hygiene score that lets them know how he/she is doing in hand washing compliance compared to peers.
So far the system is only set up in a small number of hospital rooms. However, hospital officials say the information gained in the monitoring analysis may help make decisions that improve compliance and, ultimately, patient safety and care, through the entire hospital.
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