Patient Safety Reporting: Hand Hygiene Compliance
Patient safety remains the most important priority for AHI and this involves ensuring that patients are not at risk for contracting health care-associated infections.
We have a number of practices in place to help prevent and control infections, including a comprehensive hand hygiene program. As of April 30, 2009, all Ontario hospitals are required to annually post their hand hygiene compliance rates to further promote accountability and transparency within the health system.
What are health care-associated infections?
Sometimes when patients are admitted to the hospital, they can get infections. These are called health care-associated infections.
How will the public reporting of hand hygiene compliance affect compliance among health care professionals?
There are many factors that will improve hand hygiene compliance. Mandatory public reporting is one element. Certainly the increasing recent attention on the issue as well as the provincial government’s multifaceted hand hygiene program called “Just Clean Your Hands” are important to ensuring effective hand hygiene at the right times.
What will be publicly reported?
Ontario hospitals are posting their hand hygiene compliance rates as percentages for time periods identified by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, using the following formula:
# of time hand hygiene performed X 100
# of observed hand hygiene indications
These percentages also reflect:
hand hygiene before initial patient/patient environment contact by combined health care provider type (e.g. nurses, allied health professionals, physicians, etc.)
hand hygiene after patient/patient environment contact by combined health care provider type (e.g. nurses, allied health professionals, physicians, etc.)
What is the rate at AHI?
HH % compliance for April 2023 to March 2024 before initial patient/patient environment contact: 89.5 %
HH % compliance for April 2023 to March 2024 after initial patient/patient environment contact: 95.7%
HH % compliance for April 2021 to March 2022 before initial patient/patient environment contact: 88.0%
HH % compliance for April 2021 to March 2022 after patient/patient environment contact: 95.0%
HH % compliance for April 2020 to March 2021 before initial patient/patient environment contact: 94.9%
HH % compliance for April 2020 to March 2021 after patient/patient environment contact: 96.9%