CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

What:  As increasing patient safety, reducing costs, and lowering readmissions remain high priorities for healthcare systems across the U.S., improved methods for encouraging increased hand hygiene to help meet these goals are being discussed.

On Tuesday, December 10, during the Institute for Healthcare Improvement 25th Annual National Forum in Orlando, Fla., the presentation "Lead the Change to Improved Patient Safety and Quality: Moving Beyond Direct Observation to Electronic Hand Hygiene Monitoring," will describe the advantages of using an electronic monitoring system to track hand hygiene compliance over the manual direct observation method commonly used today.

Electronic monitoring systems, and particularly group (vs. individual) monitoring systems, can provide a better way to give performance feedback and help drive improvement. This topic is particularly poignant as healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain an issue, with one in 20 patients contracting an infection, resulting in 1.7 million infections in the US annually, and causing 100,000 deaths.

Recent clinical studies show evidence that the widely used method of manual direct observation of cleaning hands only "before and after" patient care should no longer be the standard for hospitals. Furthermore, in a survey of more than 400 healthcare professionals from across the United States done by 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, 90 percent of participants reported that they believe the WHO Five Moments for Hand Hygiene is a higher clinical standard that helps reduce the spread of infections better than cleaning just before and after patient care, which can miss up to 50 percent of hand hygiene opportunities, potentially putting patients at risk for infection.

During the IHI presentation, the DebMed^® GMS™ (Group Monitoring System) which automatically measures the WHO Five Moments for Hand Hygiene, will be shown as an accurate and reliable method to provide hospitals with timely and actionable hand hygiene compliance data. Infection prevention, patient safety and healthcare quality professionals, and senior hospital leaders interested in improving overall quality and patient safety by reducing preventable infections should attend. Presentation attendees are eligible for a drawing for a $250 Visa gift card.

Who:  Heather McLarney, Vice President, DebMed will present.

Throughout her 20 years in healthcare, Heather McLarney has shared her in-depth experience with healthcare technology and process improvement with Fortune 20 and start-up companies. As a consultant with Cardinal Health, she drove process improvement in hospitals by implementing measures to improve quality while reducing costs. She then became director of marketing strategy for McKesson where she expanded its footprint in physician practice medical records and launched its RelayHealth division, whose solutions streamline healthcare interactions resulting in improved care and lower costs. In her current role as vice president of marketing for DebMed, Ms. McLarney oversees all marketing, customer service and client training.  Heather speaks frequently at healthcare-related conferences around the country.

Where:  The corridor between the Palms Ballroom and Crystal Ballroom, Marriott World Center

When:  Tuesday, December 10, 2013, 4:30 - 5:00 p.m. ET

For more information, visit www.debmed.com, or plan to meet with Ms. McLarney following the presentation. The company will be hosting one-on-one demonstration of the DebMed GMS throughout the show at their booth #1107.

About DebMed®

DebMed is the healthcare program of the Deb Group. The DebMed program offers innovative hand hygiene products, electronic monitoring technology, and improvement tools to support hand hygiene compliance.  The DebMed® GMS™ (Group Monitoring System), winner of the 2013 Frost & Sullivan Hand Hygiene Solutions New Product Innovation Award, is the world's first group monitoring system to report hand hygiene compliance rates based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) "Five Moments for Hand Hygiene" and to date has recorded more than 35 million hand hygiene events.  The system is being utilized in a four year, multi-site research project being conducted by the Columbia University School of Nursing and funded by a $1.2 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). For more information, visit www.debmed.com.

About Deb Group

Possessing international scale and strong local market presence, Deb Group provides innovative skin care programs for all types of workplace and public environments, spanning industrial, commercial, healthcare and food sectors.  Headquartered in the United Kingdom with US operations based in Charlotte, NC, Deb Group is comprised of 22 companies operating in 18 countries.  For more information, visit www.debgroup.com.

SOURCE DebMed