A new study finds that several factors, including the location and type of health care worker, determined hand hygiene compliance rates among healthcare personnel in an emergency room. The results of the study have been published in the November issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

The study confirms to Arizona medical malpractice attorneys the role of several factors in crowded hospital emergency rooms that increase the risk of infections. For instance, the study found many healthcare personnel in hospital emergency rooms preferred to wear gloves instead of washing hands after seeing each patient. This practice does NOT minimize infection risks, and may actually enhance them.

Additionally, the study found that hand hygiene education leaves out several types of workers, increasing infection risks. For instance, workers responsible for transporting patients from an emergency department to a room or another department, were much less likely to receive training in hand hygiene compliance. These people were therefore, much less likely to wash their hands after taking care of a patient, compared to other types of workers. The researchers also found that providers taking care of a patient in a hallway bed had lower hand hygiene compliance rates.

This is believed to be the largest such study into hospital emergency departments, and involved data from 5,800 patient encounters in an emergency room. Researchers found that overall, appropriate hand washing practices were in place about 90% of the time.

Considering that one out of every five American residents can expect to visit an emergency department this year, Arizona medical malpractice lawyers believe that it's important to focus on infection prevention and control in these departments. The risks in emergency rooms are especially high because of overcrowding, which is common in many Arizona hospitals.