Hand Hygiene Compliance Monitoring - CenTrak

Healthcare has embraced digital transformation across clinical workflows, but hand hygiene—a cornerstone of infection prevention—remains one of the least digitized processes. Many hospitals still rely on outdated, manual observation methods like “secret shoppers” to monitor compliance. These are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and statistically insignificant, capturing less than 5% of all hand hygiene events. Worse, they are subject to the Hawthorne Effect, inflating compliance rates simply because staff know they are being observed.

This unreliable data undermines efforts to reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), which cost hospitals millions annually and risk patient safety. Facilities need a scalable, automated solution that provides true, real-time compliance data, enabling continuous improvement and measurable impact.

CenTrak's RTLS-based Hand Hygiene Compliance Monitoring solution digitizes and automates the process—ensuring comprehensive event capture and actionable insights. Using lightweight RTLS staff badges and Gen2IR infrared technology, the system detects when staff enter or exit patient areas and whether a hand hygiene event (soap or sanitizer use) was performed according to protocol. The same badges can also support contact tracing, duress alerts, and nurse call automation, expanding ROI.

Configurable room rules, such as “soap only” zones, can be set per care area, while advanced dashboards and reporting tools allow Infection Preventionists and hospital leaders to track compliance trends by unit, role, or individual. Clinical consulting services are included to help guide change management, optimize workflows, and foster long-term behavioral change.

With CenTrak, healthcare facilities achieve clinical-grade locating accuracy, scalable deployment without disrupting patient care, and robust analytics to meet Joint Commission and Leapfrog Group requirements—all while improving compliance by 30% or more within six months.