Washable Computer - The importance of washing your computer

Image via WikipediaI came across a clinical assistant product - MedTab. It is a thin client and can be used to view the EMR/EHR records of a patient. I was surprised to see that this device/gadget is washable.

I read the following from their website. It is good.

Several scientific journals (sited below) have reported on incidents of infectious organisms being isolated from computer keyboards used in patient care areas. Other articles have connected contaminated computer keyboards to infected patients. Some medical professionals recommend disinfecting keyboards daily, when visibly soiled, or when leaving an ICU room. The MedTab can help reduce patient infections by minimizing the need to share computers, and by eliminating the keyboard (which may be seldom disinfected). The MedTab has no open holes, ports or cracks for organisms to hide. It is easy to wipe clean and disinfect.

Quick Facts about Healthcare Acquired Infections

There are more than two million healthcare acquired infections each year that result in more than 90,000 deaths. (Journal of Epidemiology and Centers for Disease Control and Infections)

In Pennsylvania alone, healthcare acquired infections in 2004 cost the health system more than two billion dollars. (Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council)

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, April, 2006

Bacterial Contamination of Keyboards: Efficacy and Functional Impact of Disinfectants. Rutala WA, White MS, Gergen MF, Weber DJ

"Computers are ubiquitous in the healthcare setting and have been shown to be contaminated with potentially pathogenic microorganisms."

"Therefore, we agree with other investigators who have recommended that routine disinfection be performed on computer keyboards that are used in patient care areas. Computers in these areas should be disinfected daily and when visibly soiled."

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, Sep.-Oct. 2002

Basic Microbiologic and Infection Control Information to Reduce the Potential Transmission of Pathogens to Patients via Computer Hardware. Alice N. Neely, PhD and Dean F. Sittig, PhD

"Recent articles have indicated that computer hardware, just as other medical equipment, may act as a reservoir for microorganisms and contribute to the transfer of pathogens to patients.."

"Therefore, anyone (such as a staff member) or anything (such as a portable computer) that contacts anything in the patient�s room should be considered to be contaminated and needs to be disinfected before leaving the (ICU) room."

American Journal of Infection Control, 2000

Computer Keyboards and Faucet Handles as Reservoirs of Nosocomial Pathogens in the Intensive Care Unit. Bures S, Fishbain JT, Uyehara CFT, et al.

"...MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) causing clinical infection in two of the ICU patients was identical to the MRSA isolated from the keyboards, thereby establishing a direct connection between the infected patients and the computers."

Clinical Infectious Disease, November 1999

Computer Keyboards as Reservoirs for Acinetobacter baumannii in a Burn Hospital. Neely AN, Maley MP, Warden GD..

"...findings strongly suggest a link between contaminated computer keyboards and colonization in this group of patients."

Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, June 1998

Swabbing Computers in Search of Nosocomial Bacteria. Isaacs D, Daley A, Dalton D, et al

"...Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas, both of which are capable of causing serious infections in burn patients, were found on the computer terminals."