Premier awards electronic hand hygiene monitoring systems contract to DebMed

US healthcare improvement company, Premier has awarded a group purchasing agreement to DebMed in the hand hygiene monitoring systems category.

The new three-year agreement enables healthcare organisations that are Premier members with access to the DebMed group monitoring system (GMS), effective 01 October.

DebMed marketing vice president Heather McLarney said: "As healthcare worker hand hygiene remains at a staggeringly low 40 percent, there is much work to be done to provide safer and cleaner environments for hospital patients and staff."

"Our contract with Premier allows us to reach hospitals across the country in search of the best way to track and improve hand hygiene to ultimately achieve better patient care.

"And as the only electronic monitoring solution available that monitors by the World Health Organization Five Moments and CDC hand hygiene standards, we offer something not previously available through Premier until now."

Claimed to be world’s first electronic hand hygiene compliance monitoring system, DebMed GMS is based on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) "Five Moments for Hand Hygiene" and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) hand hygiene guidelines.

The system electronically tracks staff hand hygiene activity and provides hospitals with timely and actionable hand hygiene compliance data to help organisations create and maintain quality and safety initiatives.

DebMed GMS features specialised point-of-care dispensers that provide easy access to hand sanitizer within the immediate patient zone, and exhibits full compliance with any soap or sanitizer dispenser.