Tag Archives: direct observation
3 Reasons Direct Observation Costs More Than You Think
Direct observation of hand hygiene seems like it should be the most cost-effective strategy to monitor, report, and improve staff adherence to hand hygiene protocols. After all, pen and paper (or WiFi-connected tablets and smartphones) are cheap and ...
Technology-Assisted Observation Can Improve Hand Hygiene
Healthcare providers know that hand hygiene is key to reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). And yet, despite that knowledge and countless hours of staff education – not to mention investments in cute posters and handwashing systems – ...
3 Steps to Improve Direct Observation
We’ve been frequent critics of using Direct Observation to measure and impact hand hygiene performance (more here). Still, we hear from some hospitals who report that they can’t invest in an electronic hand hygiene reminder system this year…so ...
Becker’s Hospital Review: 5 Reasons Direct Observation Is No Longer the Gold Standard
Hand hygiene is widely recognized as the most important foundational aspect in reducing Healthcare Associated Infections. Measuring clinicians’ hand hygiene performance rates is critical to being able to address this problem. Until recently, the on...
The Impossible Duality of Direct Observation
Some claim that Direct Observation (D.O.) is the best method to both (A) measure, and (B) change hand hygiene behavior. We assert that D.O. can do one or the other, but not both. (And it does neither particularly effectively, which we’ll get to lat...
Direct Observation: the “Fool’s Gold” Standard
fool’s gold (ˈfo͞olz ˌɡōld): something that you think will be very pleasant or successful but is not. Direct observation is no longer the gold standard in hand hygiene performance monitoring. Direct observation is, rather, the “Fool’s ...