Badges track hand-washing compliance

Princeton Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala., is testing new surveillance technology developed by Birmingham-based Proventix Systems Inc. to track whether its healthcare workers are meeting hand-washing protocols, reports National Public Radio (NPR). Hospital nurses wear special badges that track when nurses enter a patient's room and whether they wash their hands upon entering and leaving the room. This information is then wirelessly transmitted to hospital officials, including the CEO.

Hospital workers have expressed concerns about how this information will be used. Workers who are habitually noncompliant could receive an email or text message alerting them to the problem, but the system isn't designed for enacting punitive measures, says Proventix CEO Harvey Nix.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is studying how the surveillance impacts healthcare workers, examining such questions as whether they like it and whether the technology could change workers' behavior.

To learn more about hand-washing surveillance efforts:
- read this NPR article
- visit the Proventix website

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