Doctors Should Welcome a Nudge to Wash Their Hands

As a physician, I am glad for the mobile health-monitoring applications that allow me to help my patients sleep better, exercise better and eat better. Yet I was a little offended when I learned of a new wristband monitor that prods doctors to wash their hands when they enter a patient’s room.

The bracelet, conceived at the Blueprint Health technology incubator, was introduced by the startup company IntelligentM at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival last month. The device gives doctors and nurses a buzzing signal to wash; it emits further warnings if the cleansing isn’t up to the standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospital-infection-control officers can get a buzz from the wristband, too: The technology tracks hand-washing compliance and can share reports with anyone who wants to know.