Measuring compliance rates
Ontario hospitals are posting their hand hygiene compliance rates as percentages for time periods identified by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, using the following formula:
# of times hand hygiene performed x 100
# of observed hand hygiene indications
These percentages also reflect:
- hand hygiene before initial patient/patient environment contact by combined health-care provider type (e.g., nurses, health professionals, physicians, housekeeping, support staff, etc.)
- hand hygiene after patient/patient environment contact by combined health-care provider type (e.g., nurses, health professionals, physicians, housekeeping, support staff, etc.)
Hospitals are to collect at least 200 observations for every 100 in patient beds.
To ensure statistically valid data for smaller hospitals, or hospitals with fewer in-patient beds a minimum of 50 observed opportunities for hand hygiene will need to be collected.
The goal of public reporting hand hygiene compliance is to achieve an overall assessment of whether compliance rates are improving. It is normal for rates to vary from hospital to hospital.
Hand hygiene rates will be reported annually because behavioural and cultural change takes time. Therefore reporting hand hygiene rates more regularly than annually may not produce results that will indicate significant change or an impact on hand hygiene practices
In simple terms, the rates include hand hygiene compliance both before and after contact with the patient.
Hand Hygience Compliance at WDMH:
|
|
Percentage Compliance
|
|
April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009
|
54% (before patient contact)
42% (after patient contact)
|
| April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010 |
54.67 (before patient contact)
76.09 (after patient contact)
|
| |
|
| |
|