How are contacts calculated with Contact Tracing? What counts as a contact, and what doesn't? Read this article to find out more.
How contacts are registered
What is a contact, and how is it registered?
Think of contact as the presence of two people simultaneously in a room or a work zone. Contacts are registered when a Sani Sensor on a wall or by a patient bed registers the Sani ID of a healthcare worker.
Contact can be between a healthcare worker and a patient in the patient rooms or between two healthcare workers in, e.g., rinsing rooms, medication rooms, or by a patient bed.
Are contacts registered in all rooms?
Contact is registered by sensors located by a patient bed or on a wall. In rooms without sensors, contact will not be registered.
Is a Sani ID in contact when a healthcare worker quickly stops by a patient?
No, is the short answer. Contact must be longer than 20 seconds between a healthcare worker and a patient to be registered.
Is it detected when a healthcare worker passes a colleague in the hallway?
In rooms with sensors installed on the wall, contact with another healthcare worker wearing a Sani ID will be registered after 1 second of presence in the area in front of the sensor.
The contact will only be registered if there are installed sensors in the location that is not on dispensers.
How results are calculated
Total contact time and Length of each contact
The results depend on the infection risk classification, i.e., the criteria you set.
If you select 'Total contact time,' all contacts and the contact time will be aggregated. If the 'Total contact time' exceeds the 'Minimum contact time,' a result will appear for contacts between the healthcare worker(s) or patient. The total contact time duration within the period will also be visible.
If you select "Length of each contact", the duration of at least one contact must be longer than the 'Minimum contact time', for the person or room to be included in the results.
How are Healthcare worker contacts calculated?
For contact between healthcare workers or healthcare workers and patients to appear in the results, they must adhere to the criteria you have set up for the infection case.
Contacts between healthcare workers are registered when two healthcare workers are in the area in front of a sensor placed on a wall.
In patient rooms, a contact is registered when two healthcare workers are by the same patient bed for more than 20 seconds.
How are patient contacts calculated?
Under patients in contact, you will see the healthcare workers who have been in contact with a patient for the duration selected in the bed(s) filter criteria.
Patients who have been in contact for less than the time set in the criteria will not appear. You can reduce minimum contact time and include shorter contacts within the infectious period.
How are room contacts calculated?
When an infected healthcare worker has been in a room with a wall sensor for more than the specified case criteria, the room will appear as a result (potentially contaminated). You can sort the list based on the 'Room name' or 'Room type' by clicking on the column header.
What if a contact does not show up?
There can be several reasons. Here are some of the most common causes:- The duration of contacts is shorter than what is specified in the criteria. Reduce the minimum contact time to see shorter contacts or total contact time, depending on what determines the risk of infection.
- Two healthcare workers have been in contact in a room without Sani Sensors. The Sani Nudge solution measures contacts between healthcare workers in zones monitored by Sani sensors only.
- The Sani ID of a healthcare worker is damaged or out of battery.
- The sensor by the patient bed or on the wall is damaged or out of battery.