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Proper hand hygiene significantly reduces the spread of infection in healthcare settings. In the past, doctors and nurses did not wash their hands, leading to patient deaths. Today, most medical facilities enforce stringent guidelines on hand hygiene, and failure to follow them can result in fines or penalties. Hand hygiene is part of most clinical health care curricula.
The connection between infection control and hand hygiene has been demonstrated in numerous studies. Proper hand hygiene procedures have been clearly demonstrated to significantly reduce the spread of infection in healthcare settings such as doctor’s offices and hospitals. Most of these facilities now have specific hygiene policies aimed at controlling infections. Many federal and local governments actually enforce such policies.
In the early days of medicine, it was common practice for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to go from one patient to another without even washing their hands. At the time, science had not yet discovered the relationship between infection control and hand hygiene. As a result, many patients with minor illnesses worsened and even died because they had contracted serious infections from a previous patient of the doctor. New mothers, in particular, often died during or shortly after childbirth from infections transmitted by the physician delivering the birth.
The relationship between infection control and hand hygiene was publicized in the United States as early as 1843 by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes. Dr. Holmes and his European counterparts have met with derision and resistance from the medical community, but have persisted in educating the community, the government, and future doctors about their concerns about improper hand hygiene. Although it took more than a century, hand hygiene procedures eventually became the norm in medical circles.
Today, most medical facilities accept the connection between infection control and hand hygiene. In an effort to provide the safest possible environment for patients, they write and enforce stringent guidelines on the matter. Typical measures include washing hands with an antibacterial soap, using hand products with a high alcohol content, and using hand sanitizers. Most policies also require healthcare workers to change gloves between patients.
Government and consumer protection groups monitor the development and use of such policies in many areas. In some cases, failure to follow proper hygiene procedures can lead to fines or penalties. Malpractice lawsuits can also result.
Proper hand hygiene is part of most clinical health care curricula. Nurses, X-ray technicians, laboratory technicians, physicians, surgical assistants, dental hygienists and others are trained to follow hygienic procedures. Segments on hand hygiene may also be taught in non-clinical health care courses such as physician office management and health care customer service. The goal of all of these training modules is to make students aware of the connection between infection control and hand hygiene.
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