Mobile Point-of-Care Hand Hygiene Infrastructure for Emergency Medical Services: A Concept Proposal

Hand hygiene is a cornerstone of infection prevention and control and one of the most effective measures for reducing pathogen transmission in healthcare settings. Current hand hygiene systems are largely designed for fixed healthcare environments, where patient zones, points of care, sinks, and alcohol-based hand rub dispensers remain spatially stable. Emergency Medical Services (EMS), however, operate in dynamic and uncontrolled environments where patient care is delivered across multiple locations during a single encounter. This paper proposes the concept of Mobile Point-of-Care Hand Hygiene Infrastructure (MPHHI) for EMS. The concept is based on the principle that if the point of care is mobile, hand hygiene infrastructure must also become mobile. A wearable hand hygiene system is presented as one possible operational implementation of this broader framework. The system is intended to provide immediate access to alcohol-based hand rub, disposable gloves, and other infection prevention supplies throughout the patient care journey. The concept does not introduce new hand hygiene indications. Rather, it aims to facilitate implementation of existing hand hygiene recommendations in prehospital care by reducing physical, spatial, and workflow-related barriers. The proposed framework requires future evaluation, including feasibility, acceptability, microbiological safety, ergonomic performance, impact on hand hygiene compliance, and possible unintended consequences.