DebMed Showcases Hand Hygiene Solutions at APIC

DebMed®, creator of the award-winning DebMed GMS™, announces its solution line-up for the 42nd annual APIC conference, June 27-29, 2015 in Nashville, Tenn. As several Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) quality programs now include direct measures for hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), DebMed continues to expand its solutions to support hospitals' growing need to increase hand hygiene compliance, reduce infections and maximize financial returns.

In 2014, CMS began reducing Medicare payments for hospitals that ranked the worst performing based on the number of HAIs. More than 700 hospitals across the country have seen reductions in their Medicare payments by one percent since being notified. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on any given day, about 1 in 25 hospital patients acquires an HAI, many of which could have been prevented if proper measures were taken, and which cost an average of $21,800. Furthermore, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), within which CMS operates, has announced its three programs to reach the goal of tying 85 percent of all traditional Medicare payments to quality or value by 2016, and 90 percent by 2018. Quality measures around readmissions and HAIs are woven into all three programs.

"Practicing proper hand hygiene remains the simplest and most effective step to protect patients from HAIs," says Heather McLarney, vice president of marketing for DebMed North America. "DebMed supports hospitals in the quest to increase hand hygiene compliance and reduce the spread of infections through its effective skin care products and the market-leading compliance monitoring system."

Hospitals using the DebMed GMS hand hygiene compliance monitoring system have experienced significant increases in compliance. According to a study conducted by Duke University, a 200-bed hospital can save approximately $200,000 annually for every five percent increase in hand hygiene compliance by preventing infections.

In addition to the full line of world-class skin care products, DebMed will be demonstrating its complete suite of solutions for hand hygiene at APIC, including:
•The DebMed GMS: Validated to be accurate through a year-long published study comparing results to 24-hour video monitoring, the DebMed GMS provides feedback to hospitals on hand hygiene compliance rates based on the World Health Organization's Five Moments for Hand Hygiene in the U.S., and Four Moments in Canada, both recognized as higher clinical standards for preventing the spread of infection than only cleaning hands upon entering and exiting patient rooms. 
•Point-of-Care Dispenser: Available either unmonitored or monitored as an extension of the DebMed GMS compliance tracking system, the point-of-care dispensers provide easy access to hand sanitizer within the immediate patient zone. The dispenser supplements the standard wall-mounted units, providing bedside accessibility that will enable healthcare facilities to more readily comply with hand hygiene guidelines.
•Product-Agnostic Compliance Monitoring: Regardless of the sanitizer a hospital uses, the DebMed hand hygiene compliance monitoring system is compatible. It works with any soap or sanitizer dispenser, enabling healthcare facilities to convert to the most accurate method of hand hygiene compliance monitoring while still using the product of their choice.
•Optidose: It is designed to help hospitals enhance patient safety and improve quality of care by providing enough sanitizer to fully cover hands and ensure a proper wet time of 20 to 30 seconds with just one push. Optidose can be used with existing Deb and DebMed dispensers as well as the DebMed GMS hand hygiene compliance monitoring system.

For more information, stop by the DebMed booth #114.

In 2014, Deb Group acquired Stoko Professional Skin Care to become the world's largest specialist occupational skin care company. The combined organization comprises of 23 companies operating in 19 countries, with Deb products used over 150 million times every day. In 2015, Deb Group was acquired by SC Johnson, a privately-held, family company and one of the world's leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air care, pest control and shoe care.

Source: DebMed