Healthcare-associated infections remain a serious threat, but practical solutions can reduce risk. This article shares expert insights on prevention strategies, from UV-C treatment and better cleaning to safer storage and real-time compliance tools. These focused steps can help healthcare teams protect patients and staff.
- Decolonize High-Risk Patients
- Layer UV-C With Core Practices
- Standardize Safety Through Digital Checklists
- Double-Glove Against Bloodborne Exposure
- Maintain Hearing Aid Sanitation
- Address Underlying Immune Vulnerabilities
- Build Multimodal Compliance Culture
- Use IoT Sensors for Real-Time Compliance
- Reverse Teach-Back Roles
- Passivate Steel to Prevent Biofilms
- Use QR Codes for Instant Reports
- Control Storage Humidity
- Target Cleaning With Rapid Diagnostics
Decolonize High-Risk Patients
Universal decolonization has been the most effective infection-prevention approach I have followed. Instead of screening every patient and treating only carriers, hospitals give all high-risk patients a chlorhexidine wash and a short course of nasal mupirocin. The large REDUCE MRSA trial in intensive care units found that this strategy cut bloodstream infections of all causes by about 44 percent, a bigger effect than screening and isolation alone.
The logic matters to me as a dermatologist. Staph aureus lives in the nose and on skin in roughly a third of healthy adults, and it seeds surgical wounds, catheter sites, and cutaneous abscesses. Reducing the bacterial load on the skin before a procedure removes the reservoir.
I apply the same principle in my own practice. Patients with recurrent staph boils or impetigo get a decolonization protocol that pairs nasal mupirocin with chlorhexidine or dilute bleach baths, and their household contacts join when infections keep recurring. For skin surgery and laser procedures, I confirm proper skin prep, sterile technique, and wound care instructions every time, because most postoperative infections trace back to a skipped step.
Effectiveness depends on adherence and on guarding against resistance. Mupirocin resistance appears when clinicians overuse it, so I limit it to short courses with a clear indication. Used with discipline, decolonization lowers infection rates more than any single device or gadget I have seen.
Dr. Cameron Rokhsar MD FAAD FAACS, Founder & Medical Director, New York Cosmetic Skin & Laser Surgery Center
Layer UV-C With Core Practices
One innovative approach to reducing healthcare-associated infections that I’ve found interesting is the use of UV-C disinfection as an additional step after routine environmental cleaning. The technology uses ultraviolet light to help reduce microorganisms that may remain on surfaces in patient rooms and other healthcare areas.
What I like about this approach is that it complements traditional cleaning rather than trying to replace it. Healthcare environments can be extremely busy, and even with established cleaning procedures, some surfaces may be overlooked. UV-C can provide an additional layer of disinfection when used correctly.
I would describe its effectiveness as promising, but I wouldn’t consider it a standalone solution. Its results can depend on factors such as proper equipment placement, exposure time, room layout, and consistent adherence to cleaning protocols. It also needs to be combined with fundamental practices such as hand hygiene, appropriate protective equipment, environmental cleaning, and staff education.
The biggest value I see is in using technology to strengthen existing infection-prevention efforts. Rather than expecting one solution to eliminate healthcare-associated infections, healthcare organizations can combine several proven practices with newer tools.
For me, the most effective approach is a layered one, where innovative technology supports-not replaces-the everyday practices healthcare workers already rely on to protect patients and staff.
Cecil Bennett, Primary care provider, Newnan Family Medicine
Standardize Safety Through Digital Checklists
One practical innovation that has strengthened infection prevention in healthcare settings is the use of standardized digital safety protocols that help care teams follow consistent processes and communicate effectively.
In pediatric gastroenterology, procedures such as endoscopy require careful coordination between physicians, nurses, and support teams to ensure every safety step is followed consistently. Digital documentation, electronic checklists, and tracking systems can help teams maintain consistent processes, improve accountability, and support safer procedural workflows.
While technology is not a replacement for strong infection-control practices, it can make those practices easier to follow by improving accountability and communication. The most effective systems are the ones that integrate naturally into daily workflows and support healthcare teams in delivering safe, consistent care.
I also believe education is an important part of infection prevention. Helping families understand preparation instructions, hygiene practices, and post-procedure care allows them to become active participants in their child’s healthcare journey.
Ultimately, the best innovations are those that combine technology, clinical expertise, and a patient-centered approach to create safer healthcare experiences for children and their families.
Mona Dave, Provider, Manisha “Mona” Dave, MD – Pediatric Gastroenterology
Double-Glove Against Bloodborne Exposure
To mention the obvious first: gloves and a mask are standard for everyone. Treat every patient as possibly infectious, because many people with hepatitis C don’t know they have it.
It isn’t new, but it works; for patients with a known hepatitis C history, I add a second pair of gloves, and where possible, I use a disposable set of instruments. If the outer glove gets torn or punctured, the inner one still protects my skin.
As for how effective it is, it saved me once. Early in my training, my outer glove gave way, and the inner one protected me.
Apart from that, hepatitis B vaccination for the team, which is standard now.
Dr. Talha Qadir BDS, RDS, Registered Dental Surgeon, Brightway Oral Care
Maintain Hearing Aid Sanitation
One practical approach I’ve found useful in hearing care is incorporating hearing-aid hygiene into routine infection-prevention education. Patients often clean the main device but overlook components such as domes, wax guards, tubing, and earmolds, which can collect earwax, moisture, oils, and debris. Making these small components part of the conversation helps patients understand that device care is also connected to maintaining good ear hygiene.
During follow-up visits, I encourage patients to inspect these components regularly, clean them according to manufacturer guidance, and replace disposable parts when they become soiled or worn. I also emphasize washing and drying their hands before handling hearing aids and avoiding unnecessary contact with the ear canal. These simple steps are easy to incorporate into a patient’s normal hearing-aid routine.
I’ve found this approach effective because it makes infection prevention practical rather than something discussed only when a problem occurs. Follow-up appointments also provide an opportunity to identify hygiene concerns, answer questions, and reinforce proper cleaning habits. The goal is not to eliminate every infection risk, but to give patients consistent, practical habits that support safer hearing-aid use.
Chris Hoffmann, Owner and Audiologist, Hoffmann Audiology
Address Underlying Immune Vulnerabilities
One approach I’ve found valuable is looking beyond simply treating an infection and asking why the patient may be more susceptible in the first place. From a functional medicine perspective, I look at blood sugar control, nutrition, gut health, sleep, stress, and immune function because these can influence the body’s ability to respond to infection.
This does not replace proven infection control measures such as hand hygiene, sterilization, appropriate antibiotic use, and environmental cleaning. Instead, I see it as an additional layer of care. In my experience, combining prevention with attention to the patient’s overall metabolic and immune health provides a much more complete approach.
Dr. Jonathan Spages, Doctor, Author, Advanced Natural Health Center
Build Multimodal Compliance Culture
Question: What’s one innovative approach to addressing healthcare-associated infections you’ve encountered? How effective do you think it has been?
Response:
One of the most effective approaches to preventing healthcare-associated infections is the use of a multimodal hand hygiene strategy that combines easily accessible alcohol-based hand rubs, practical staff training, visual reminders, regular compliance audits, and timely feedback. The innovation lies not in hand sanitizers alone, but in building infection prevention into everyday clinical routines through continuous education and accountability.
The World Health Organization reports that effective infection prevention and control programs can prevent up to 70% of healthcare-associated infections.
Research published in 2026 in JAMA Network Open, based on a trial across eight healthcare facilities in Uganda, found that hand hygiene adherence increased from 22.1% at baseline to 79.2% during the intervention, remaining at 72.7% during follow-up.
The key lesson is that sustainable improvements depend on more than written protocols. Regular skills-based training, leadership support, consistent monitoring, and a culture where infection prevention is everyone’s responsibility help translate knowledge into practice. From a workforce development perspective, continuous professional education plays a critical role in equipping healthcare teams with the practical skills and habits needed to protect patients and improve care quality.
Arvind Rongala, CEO, Invensis Learning
Use IoT Sensors for Real-Time Compliance
IoT-integrated digital hygiene monitoring is the most effective tool for replacing unreliable self-reporting with objective, real-time data collection. In observing digital transformations across healthcare IT, I’ve found that the most successful implementations shift hygiene from a manual checklist to a continuous, passive operational stream. By embedding sensors at hand-hygiene stations and room entry points that sync with staff wearable tags, facilities can map compliance patterns without adding to the clinical team’s administrative burden. This directly addresses human error and cognitive load-the primary drivers of healthcare-associated infections.
The effectiveness of these systems is tied to how the data is utilized. They are most impactful when used for proactive coaching rather than reactive punishment. For instance, facility dashboards that highlight high-traffic zones needing more frequent sterilization cycles allow for a dynamic response to environmental risks. However, the value isn’t just in the hardware; it’s in how seamlessly the resulting data integrates into existing hospital management software to provide floor managers with actionable insights. When applied this way, the technology serves as a pragmatic equalizer, maintaining safety standards regardless of shift intensity. The next step for this innovation is ensuring these systems do not contribute to alert fatigue, focusing instead on subtle nudges that reinforce positive clinical behavior in real time.
Kuldeep Kundal, Founder & CEO, CISIN
Reverse Teach-Back Roles
Teach backs can be helpful when teaching staff on topics that pertain to infection prevention. However, I believe they should be evaluated if they will actually decrease HAI. One idea I think could be beneficial is having the roles switched when doing quick teach sessions with staff. Have your team member teach you an infection prevention practice that they know and explain why they are doing what they are doing. Then throw them an interruption or hand off and ask them what they would do. Once your team member finishes their explanation compare it to what your facility teaches. There may be steps that are not taught properly or people may interpret things differently.
I think we can say it will be effective but not 100%. Teaching someone something and having them explain it back to you does not show that they will do it every day. By following up and discussing the situation with them we can see if there is still a misunderstanding and help educate them further. It would have to be shown that these teach backs will decrease infection.
Dr. Heike Kraemer D.M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc., Executive President, Interdisciplinary Dental Education Academy (IDEA)
Passivate Steel to Prevent Biofilms
Coming from the precision cleaning side of the pharma and biotech world, I’ve seen passivation make a measurable difference in preventing contamination at the source. Passivation creates a chemically inert chromium oxide layer on stainless steel surfaces in production equipment and piping systems, which prevents bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation before products ever reach patients. We’ve worked with pharmaceutical manufacturers who reduced contamination events by implementing routine passivation protocols on their production vessels and transfer lines. It’s particularly effective because it addresses the root cause rather than just treating symptoms. When equipment surfaces are properly passivated and maintained, microorganisms simply have fewer places to colonize, which translates to cleaner products entering the supply chain and ultimately fewer infection vectors reaching healthcare settings.
Kevin Peguero, Digital Marketing Manager, Astro Pak
Use QR Codes for Instant Reports
QR codes in clinical settings don’t usually show up in infection control conversations, but we kept running into this use case at Pageloot. Hospitals and clinics were using dynamic QR codes on hand hygiene stations, not to track hand-washing compliance directly, but to surface real-time protocol updates and report supply shortages instantly.
Before that, a nurse noticing an empty sanitizer dispenser had to either flag it manually or wait for a scheduled check. With a scannable code, the report goes in from the point of care in under 30 seconds. One healthcare network we worked with reduced their dispenser downtime complaints by around 60% within the first quarter of deployment.
The more interesting layer is audit trails. Dynamic QR codes log when and where they’re scanned. Facilities managers started using that data to identify which stations had low engagement, then cross-referencing with cleaning schedules to find gaps. It turned a passive fixture into an active feedback loop.
It’s not a silver bullet for HAIs, hand hygiene compliance is still a human behavior problem at its core. But removing friction from reporting and updating protocols in real time means staff are working with current information instead of laminated posters from two years ago. That gap between posted procedure and actual current guidance is where a lot of small failures accumulate.
Siim Kostabi, CEO, Pageloot
Control Storage Humidity
One innovative approach I’ve encountered is using climate-controlled storage to limit humidity and mold on materials that will enter clinical environments. In operating self-storage for our inventory, climate control prevented high humidity and visible mold on wood crates and plastic packaging. From that experience, I find climate-controlled environments effective at preventing material degradation and visible microbial growth. Keeping items dry and stable reduces one environmental source of contamination, though it is not a standalone solution for all infection risks.
Matteo Valles, Owner, Vol Case
Target Cleaning With Rapid Diagnostics
One innovative approach is pairing rapid point-of-care testing with real-time environmental monitoring to guide targeted cleaning and isolation. Rapid tests identify colonized or infected patients quickly so interventions can focus on those who need them. Environmental monitoring highlights high-risk surfaces and areas so cleaning resources are used where they matter most. When these tools are implemented with clear protocols, staff training, and timely communication, they can improve containment while avoiding unnecessary broad interventions.
Edith Forestal, CISSP, CISM, CEH, Founder & Cybersecurity Specialist, Forestal Security
