DebMed® to Debut Benefits of World's First Electronic Hand Hygiene Compliance Monitoring System Using the WHO Five Moments at Annual Infection Control Conference

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- DebMed®, creator of the world's first electronic hand hygiene compliance monitoring system based on the World Health Organization's (WHO's) Five Moments for Hand Hygiene, will feature their group monitoring system and several new product innovations at the upcoming Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC) 2012 Conference in San Antonio, June 4-6.

Product demonstrations will allow attendees to directly experience the robust reporting features of the DebMed® GMS™ (Group Monitoring System), the world's first automated real-time group monitoring system to report hand hygiene compliance rates based on the WHO Five Moments.

The system is in alignment with the views of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), which recommends that healthcare facilities "utilize a sound measurement system to determine real hand hygiene compliance scores in real time." The DebMed GMS goes beyond electronic monitoring to provide supporting tools such as staff meeting facilitation guides and visual reminders to help enable behavior change; it currently costs about 80-90 percent less than systems that monitor compliance using individual badges.

"By moving hygiene monitoring to an electronic platform and away from direct observation, we will change the landscape of infection control and help to reduce the unnecessary HAIs that hospitals are currently experiencing each year," said Heather McLarney, Vice President, Marketing, DebMed. "DebMed plays a pivotal role in revolutionizing the hand hygiene industry, and the APIC conference provides a terrific venue for us to demonstrate firsthand the value of our solution for significantly improving hand hygiene in healthcare."

New Products to Look For:

DebMed will also unveil two new products:

• The world's first point-of-care monitored dispenser, which can be mounted on beds, carts and bedside tables to capture additional hand hygiene events, further expanding the capabilities of the DebMed GMS electronic monitoring system
  
• Optidose™, a new sanitizer dispensing technology that dispenses a larger amount of foaming hand sanitizer. Optidose was developed based on the data insights from the more than eight million hand hygiene events captured by the DebMed GMS system over eight months that showed 9 out of 10 of healthcare workers access hand sanitizer using only one push of a dispenser. A key element of DebMed Optidose is that it achieves the optimal "wet time" of 15 to 20 seconds as recommended by WHO, enabling healthcare workers to perform a proper and complete hand sanitizing event.

In addition to product demonstrations, DebMed will also be featuring a brief, 30-minute presentation in its booth given on the hour and the half hour. Titled "Advances in Hand Hygiene Compliance: Moving Beyond Direct Observation," it will focus on how hospitals can increase hand hygiene compliance and improve patient safety through electronic monitoring.

Lastly, DebMed is also sponsoring the APIC Internet Station, where attendees can access their email or the Internet.

Live Presentations in DebMed Booth #921 on "Advances in Hand Hygiene Compliance: Moving Beyond Direct Observation"

Monday, June 4
11 a.m., 11:30, 12, 12:30, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, June 5
11 a.m., 11:30, 12, 12:30, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, June 6
11 a.m., 11:30, 12, 12:30 p.m.

Register to attend an in-booth session at APIC at www.debmed.com.

To learn more about DebMed, please visit www.debmed.com.

DebMed® is the health care program of the Deb Group. The DebMed® program offers innovative hand hygiene products, dispensing systems and tools to support hand hygiene compliance. The DebMed® GMS™ (Group Monitoring System) is the world's first group monitoring system to report hand hygiene compliance rates in real-time using the World Health Organization's (WHO) "Five Moments for Hand Hygiene."

Follow DebMed on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DebMedProgram 
Like DebMed's Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/DebMed  
Connect with DebMed on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/DebMed

For media inquiries, contact: Holly Jespersen, 203-504-8230 x132, [email protected]

SOURCE DebMed(R)