The single most common way of transferring health care-associated infections (HAIs) in health care settings is on the hands of health care providers. Health care providers move from patient to patient and room to room while providing care and working in the patient environment. Proper hand hygiene will protect patients and providers and will reduce the spread of infections and the associated treatment costs, reduce hospital lengths of stay and readmissions, reduce wait times, and prevent deaths.

Ontario hospitals are required to publicly report hand hygiene compliance rates. Hospitals will post on their web sites, on an annual basis, by hospital site, the compliance rate for:

• hand hygiene before initial contact with the patient/patient’s environment for all health care providers
• hand hygiene after contact with the patient/patient’s environment for all health care providers