This is encouraging news.

American Medical News (4/25) reports that “more hospitals are exploring new technological alternatives to the traditional ‘secret shopper’ method of monitoring whether physicians, nurses and other health professionals clean their hands when they are supposed to.” Some “systems using wireless, infrared, radio frequency identification and alcohol-sensing technology offer the promise of more accurate data on hand-hygiene compliance while gently reminding forgetful health professionals to wash up before interacting with patients.” American Medical News points out that “health professionals’ rate of compliance with hand-hygiene guidelines put forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization has hovered between 40% and 50% nationally, depending on the study and measurement approach.”

Of course, you can always ask, or rather demand that health care workers wash their hands before touching you. If you’ve ever been the victim of a hospital infection due to improper care,  you can contact the malpractice lawyers at Lundy Law or call us at 800-281-8612.