Researchers Say RFID-Related Process Improvements Require Managerial Commitment

Researchers Say RFID-Related Process Improvements Require Managerial Commitment

A group of university researchers has found that the installation of a radio frequency identification system for monitoring hand-hygiene compliance at health-care facilities is only one part of what is required if hospitals want a long-term solution.

The way in which an RFID system is managed post-deployment can have a significant impact on its success when that technology is used for hand-hygiene compliance. The researchers found that compliance rates increased following the technology's implementation, but in instances when a hospital discontinued its use of the RFID-based monitoring system, hand-hygiene compliance, on average, dropped below the pre-installation rates. Among those hospitals that removed the technology, compliance was approximately 46 percent prior to installation, then typically regressed to about 44 percent after the solution was removed. However, while the technology was in place, the compliance rate increased to about 55 percent, on average, rising to 60 percent among the highest-performing medical facilities.