Continuous quality and process improvements are needed for solid surfaces on portable equipment in the healthcare environment. With the increasing adoption of UV-C technologies, it is the responsibility of the manufacturer of those new technologies to educate customers on how to optimize the effectiveness of their adjunct solutions.
There should be little question on whether automated solutions have a positive impact on the variability of the human factor. Because the distance between UV-C light and a target surface has direct influence on effectiveness, how does the healthcare worker consistently control distance? Technologies that are able to control distance are beginning to emerge.
By controlling the environment where UV-C is delivered, consistent results can be achieved. Surrounding a single piece of portable equipment with UV-C light in a pre-defined enclosed space ensures the distance is the same for every cycle. This produces repeatable UV-C dosage. Furthermore, in order for continuous quality and process improvements to be adopted into a facility, this solves for only one piece of the ecosystem puzzle. Much like the advent of “smart” devices in a home (TV, doorbell, speakers, etc.), there is huge potential to digitally-connect equipment with healthcare workers and administrators. Doing so should lead to better protocol adherence.
To bring things full circle, in order for healthcare institutions to implement better quality and process improvement initiatives, they should consider technologies that not only give them more consistent results, but also technologies that are digitally-connected leading to better protocol adherence.