Hospital hand hygiene compliance improves with increased monitoring and immediate feedback.

Background: Health care-associated infections are serious complications impacting 2 million patients and accounting for approximately 100,000 deaths per year. In the present study, we evaluated the effectiveness of a new hand hygiene monitoring program (HHMP) and measured the sustainability of this effectiveness over a 1-year period.

Methods: The HHMP consisted of 4 key components: extensive education, conspicuous and visible monitors, immediate feedback concerning compliance to health care workers, and real-time data dissemination to leadership.