Healthcare Acquired Infection (HAI) and clinical hand hygiene have been long-standing problems for healthcare since before the time of Semmelweis.

The economics of the problem are being shifted further onto the shoulders of hospitals as CMS phases out payments on common HAIs. The incentive is becoming overwhelming to reduce costs by helping providers gain the full patient outcome benefit of the number one preventive measure against HAIs – hand hygiene.

It's a significant contribution to a very large and costly problem:

Poor Hand Hygiene Compliance #1 infection preventive measure Accounts for highest % of HAIs: 1.7M U.S. Infections, 90K deaths $28.4B - $33.9B Costly Outcomes SSI = $34,670, CLABSI = $29,156 VAP = $28,508, CDI = $9,124* * Scott RD, The Direct Medical Costs of Healthcare-Acquired Infections in U.S. Hospitals and the Benefits of Prevention, CDC, March 2009

Ignaz Semmelweis

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