Today’s clinicians want comfort, safety, and recognizable infection prevention brands they trust.
By Paul Girouard
There was a famous quote from Mercury Astronaut John Glenn about how he felt when his rocket was about to lift off. He replied, “Well, the answer to that one is easy. I felt exactly how you would feel if you were getting ready to launch and knew you were sitting on top of 2 million parts – all built by the lowest bidder on a government contract.”
That sums up how in a pre-pandemic world we felt about infection prevention. Not much thought about product attributes, or quality, just “What’s the price?”
The world has changed. Clinicians want comfort, and they want to feel safe. They want recognizable brands they were trained on, and they have a history with. What’s the win/win here for distribution and suppliers throughout the supply chain? It’s better compliance and increased utilization of product.
What drives consumerism for hand hygiene? Significant use is a primary driver. According to the CDC, “Healthcare providers might need to clean their hands as many as 100 times per 12-hour shift depending on the number of patients and the intensity of care.”
Heavy usage by healthcare providers is tied to the five moments of hand hygiene as described by the World Health Organization:
- Before touching patients
- Before clean aseptic procedures
- After bodily exposure or risk
- After touching a patient
- After touching a patient’s surroundings
The market has been better educated on what to look for in a hand sanitizer. The World Health Organization defines an alcohol-based hand rub as: “An alcohol-containing preparation (liquid, gel or foam) designed for application to the hands to inactivate microorganisms and/or temporarily suppress their growth.” Their recommendation is for a formulation that is at least 60% ethyl alcohol active ingredient. Our customers are looking at the label of hand sanitizer to ensure the formulation is meeting up with the WHO’s recommendations.
When the pandemic was at its height and hand sanitizer was at its highest demand, the market had to use whatever was available at the time. Many jumped into the market to help build enough supply. Look how quickly consumer behavior rebounded back to preferred brands.
Compliance is being driven both at home and the workplace. Proper hand hygiene is similar to automobile safety. There are generations that are growing up using hand sanitizer. Just like they remind us to buckle up when we get in the car, it is second nature for them to practice good hand hygiene and remind us if we miss an opportunity to wash or disinfect our hands.
The takeaway here is that moving forward our customers have a better understanding of hand hygiene and the brands that they use; utilization and compliance will continue to improve. We should all have a better understanding of product and appropriate regulatory guidance. We should use this as an opportunity to be a consultant when needed.