Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026
A Method to Test the Efficacy of Handwashing for the Removal of Emerging Infectious Pathogens
Published on: June 7, 2017
[Hygiene specialists]
1Klinik für Anästhesie und Intensivmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Gießen und Marburg GmbH, Standort Marburg, Germany.
Insights
New hospital hygiene laws mandate infection prevention, intensifying the shortage of specialists. Initiatives now focus on training physicians to fill these critical roles in healthcare facilities.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Infection Prevention and Control
- Public Health Policy
Context:
- The Robert Koch Institute's (RKI) Commission for Hospital Hygiene and Prevention of Infections (CHHPI) issued guidelines in 2009 for preventing nosocomial infections.
- These guidelines emphasized the roles of various healthcare professionals in infection control teams.
- Inadequate implementation of these recommendations and persistent hygiene deficits led to new legislation.
Purpose:
- To address the persistent challenges in implementing hospital hygiene recommendations.
- To enforce accountability for infection prevention among healthcare facility managers.
- To respond to the intensified shortage of hospital hygiene specialists.
Summary:
- A new law mandates hospital managers to prevent nosocomial infections, adhering to RKI/CHHPI recommendations.
- The existing scarcity of hygiene specialists is exacerbated by these new legal requirements.
- Physicians are being trained to assume hospital hygiene specialist functions to bridge the gap.
Impact:
- Increased legal obligations for healthcare facility leadership in infection control.
- Heightened demand for qualified hospital hygiene specialists.
- Development of new training pathways for physicians in hospital hygiene to ensure compliance and patient safety.
Abstract:
In 2009 the Commission for Hospital Hygiene and Prevention of Infections (CHHPI) at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) published recommendations on the personnel and organisational prerequisites for the prevention of nosocomial infections. Emphasis was placed on the tasks of all members of professional groups who belong to or work closely with a team of hygiene specialists in an institution for outpatient or inpatient medical care. Since these recommendations have not yet been adequately implemented and because of the repeated occurrence of hygiene deficits in the health-care services the legislature has been forced to pass a new law on hospital hygiene. This law requires the managers of hospitals and other medical facilities to avoid nosocomial infections and to abide by the recommendations of CHHPI and RKI. The already existing shortage of hygiene specialists, and especially of hospital hygiene specialists, is thereby further intensified. Thus there are initiatives to provide physicians working in hospitals with further training in hygiene so that they can take over the functions of a hospital hygiene specialist.
Related Concept Videos
01:23Hand hygiene
Hand washing...
01:26Standard Precaution
Hand hygiene is the most crucial means to prevent the transmission of disease. Employers are legally required to provide their workers with personal protective equipment (PPE) to minimize exposure or contact with...
01:15Handwashing III: During the Procedure and Post-Procedure Steps
01:30Cleaning, Sterilization, and Disinfection
Cleaning
The cleaning process usually involves using water with detergents or enzymatic cleaner and removing foreign material from objects and surfaces, including organic material such as body fluids or inorganic material like soil. Cleaning is performed before high-level disinfection and sterilization because foreign materials on the cover of the devices interfere with process...
01:22Healthcare Associated Infections II: Preventive Measures
The best practices for preventing healthcare-associated infections include hand hygiene, patient risk...
01:19Handwashing II: Pre-procedure and Initial Procedure Steps
The hand washing procedure itself includes the following steps. First, cover cuts, if any, on hands with a waterproof dressing. Cuts and abrasions can become contaminated with bacteria hindering the ability to clean the area thoroughly. In addition, repeated hand washing can worsen an injury. The nails must be short and clean, without nail paint...