Standard work for room entry: Linking lean, hand hygiene, and patient-centeredness

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Infection prevention and control
• Lean engineering in healthcare

Background:

• Healthcare-associated infections pose significant financial and mortality burdens.
• Despite recognition of hand hygiene's importance, compliance rates remain low (around 40%).

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a standardized room entry process for intensive care units (ICUs).
• To enhance hand hygiene compliance and operational efficiency.

Main Methods:

• Applied Lean engineering principles to redesign the room entry process.
• Integrated physical steps, standardized communication protocols, and environmental modifications.

Main Results:

• Observed significant improvements in adherence to the new standard process.
• Reported time savings for clinical providers during room entries.
• Noted an increase in verbal communication during room entry.

Conclusions:

• A standardized room entry process, supported by environmental changes, yielded positive outcomes in ICUs.
• Improved quality, patient experience, efficiency, and staff satisfaction were documented.
• Process simplification enhances staff workflow and task compliance.