DebMed® to Present Efficacy of Electronic Monitoring of Hand Hygiene Using the WHO Five Moments Method at IPS Conference in London

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, Sept. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

What: Recent scientific, clinical and economic rationale for improving hand hygiene have been studied, showing evidence that the typical way hand hygiene is monitored (direct observation) as well as the "two moments" practice of cleaning hands only at the entry and exit of a patient's room should no longer be the "standard." During the upcoming International Infection Prevention Conference in London, the presentation, "Electronic Monitoring of Hand Hygiene for the WHO Five Moments Method," will describe the essential elements of a multi-modal improvement model for hand hygiene compliance to demonstrate how electronic monitoring systems can work and provide a better way to give performance feedback and drive improvement.

Most importantly, the presentation will offer facts showing how the DebMed electronic group monitoring system automatically measures the WHO Five Moments for Hand Hygiene accurately and reliably, and provides hospitals with timely and actionable hand hygiene compliance data. Infection prevention, patient safety and healthcare quality professionals, and senior hospital leaders interested in improving overall quality and patient safety by reducing preventable infections should attend.

"We have seen marked and consistent increases in healthcare-associated infections on an international level, and the Infection Prevention Society conference is an ideal arena for us to present our most recent findings in the fight for proper hand hygiene and against deadly infections," said Paul Alper, vice president strategy and business development for Deb Worldwide Healthcare, Inc. "I look forward to sharing with attendees our findings on the importance of monitoring based on the World Health Organization's Five Moments for Hand Hygiene, rather than oft-used two moments of exit and entry, to decrease risk of contamination."

Who:  Paul Alper has more than 25 years of experience as a researcher, innovator, strategist and business leader in hand hygiene and has co-authored research on hand hygiene and compliance, including several works with researchers from Columbia University.

Where: The 2013 Infection Prevention Society conference in London
1 ExCeL Centre, London, E16 1XL
ExCeL London, West Entrance, Platinum Suite, Stand Number D14

The Infection Prevention Society promotes the advancement of education in infection prevention and control for the benefit of the community as a whole, in particular by the provision of training courses, accreditation schemes, education materials, meetings and conferences. The annual infection conference is the largest in the UK. 

When: Monday, September 30, 13:45 – 14:00

For more information, visit www.debmed.com, or visit Alper during the presentation.

About DebMed®
DebMed is the healthcare program of the Deb Group. The DebMed program offers innovative hand hygiene products, electronic monitoring technology, and improvement tools to support hand hygiene compliance.  The DebMed® GMS™ (Group Monitoring System) is the world's first group monitoring system to report hand hygiene compliance rates in real-time based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) "Five Moments for Hand Hygiene" and to date has recorded more than 27 million hand hygiene events.  The electronic monitoring system is being utilized in a four year, multi-site research project being conducted by the Columbia University School of Nursing and funded by a $1.2 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). It is the first study aimed at reducing healthcare-associated infections in pediatric long-term care facilities by improving staff compliance with hand hygiene guidelines. For more information on the study or DebMed, visit www.debmed.com.

About Deb Group
Possessing international scale and strong local market presence, Deb Group provides innovative skin care programs for all types of workplace and public environments, spanning industrial, commercial, healthcare and food sectors.  Headquartered in the United Kingdom with US operations based in Charlotte, NC, Deb Group is comprised of 21 companies operating in 16 countries.  For more information, visit www.debgroup.com.