Before touching a patient (39% Compliance)
As a healthcare worker enters a patient’s room a hand hygiene event is necessary to wash away any pathogens potentially picked up from previous tasks or activities. Even if they do not need to touch the patient they may come in contact with items the patient later touches, potentially passing on dangerous germs.
Before clean/aseptic procedures (63% Compliance)
Conducting tests, drawing blood, giving someone an IV, prepping for surgery, etc. all require an additional hand hygiene event prior to performing the task. At this moment patients are particularly susceptible to harmful pathogens so it’s imperative to have a high-quality hand hygiene event.
After touching patient surroundings (36.5% Compliance)
Even if the healthcare worker did not spend any time physically coming in contact with the patient directly there is still a risk of cross-contamination. It’s important for healthcare workers to remember to wash their hands every time they have come in contact with the patients surrounding to preserve the health and safety of the remainder of the facility.