Video surveillance of hospital workers for hand hygiene

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Specializes in Mostly: Occup Health; ER; Informatics.

An entry in the "Makes sense from ONE side of the table" Dept.: Using videocameras in the hospital to track quality indicators and patient-safety initiatives, such as hand hygiene. I found this idea at http://www.arrowsight.com/public/as/html/Medical/overview.asp

Yes, you will show up on video throughout your shift. Yes, every time you fail to perform the required action, an auditor will log it from the video. Yes, you can be personally identified to hospital management. This is all spelled out on the firm's website.

Now that the former Leapfrog Group CEO has joined the firm, they apparently plan to push this technology hard. (Leapfrog is essentially a big-employer club to push for higher quality in healthcare.)

Now, I know that other threads have discussed this technology for LTC environments...but I don't recall seeing it for hospitals. I am all for increasing patient safety, but having third-party auditors watch my every move of every shift...:eek:

  • Thoughts? (Besides the obvious visitor-privacy/HIPAA/worker-rights issues)
  • Is your hospital doing this?
  • Will you quit if they start doing this?
  • Does anyone else see a HUGE legal issue, if the video becomes "discoverable"? (It can support nurses doing things right as well as destroy nurses doing anything not right.)

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An entry in the "Makes sense from ONE side of the table" Dept.: Using videocameras in the hospital to track quality indicators and patient-safety initiatives, such as hand hygiene. I found this idea at http://www.arrowsight.com/public/as/html/Medical/overview.asp

Yes, you will show up on video throughout your shift. Yes, every time you fail to perform the required action, an auditor will log it from the video. Yes, you can be personally identified to hospital management. This is all spelled out on the firm's website.

Now that the former Leapfrog Group CEO has joined the firm, they apparently plan to push this technology hard. (Leapfrog is essentially a big-employer club to push for higher quality in healthcare.)

Now, I know that other threads have discussed this technology for LTC environments...but I don't recall seeing it for hospitals. I am all for increasing patient safety, but having third-party auditors watch my every move of every shift...:eek:

  • Thoughts? (Besides the obvious visitor-privacy/HIPAA/worker-rights issues)
  • Is your hospital doing this?
  • Will you quit if they start doing this?
  • Does anyone else see a HUGE legal issue, if the video becomes "discoverable"? (It can support nurses doing things right as well as destroy nurses doing anything not right.)

Like this would be used strictly for it's stated purpose. Basically it seems like they're using a back-door to essential provide surveillence over nurses. It's even worse than nurse trackers. Interesting how these things tend to be geared only at the nurses. Everybody else can pretty much do as they please. I've always said that if others within health care facilities were scrutinized and held to impossibly high standards the way nurses are when it comes to their jobs, mine would be so much easier.

Yeah, it must be the nurse's fault. Can't be the fact that patient units aren't cleaned and disinfected the way they used to be, back when I worked as a hospital housekeeper. Can't be the fact that anyone not in a private room shares BR facilities and accommodations with another patient. Can't be the fact that visitation is unlimited and 24 hours in some facilities. Certainly can't be the fact that there is now community aquired strains of these microbes, or the fact that perfectly health people can carry them.

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I wonder how this system will address patient privacy. The camera will obviously be on during intimate procedures in the patient's room. Plus the patient's face will be easily identifiable. And who are the people who will be doing the monitoring? Will they have some kind of medical background? From the privacy perspective, this really bothers me.

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Specializes in Making the Pt laugh..

The only way I would like this idea was if the consultants, other doctors, discharge planners, OT's, physios, rehab co-ordinators, kitchen staff, cleaners and anyone else I have missed get caught not gowning, gloving, washing hands or any of the other things WE take for granted when visiting infectious Pt's.

And then I would expect them to be held as accountable as us.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

So, who will be the one with the exciting job of reviewing these most interesting and riveting videos? :rolleyes:

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