This week's coverage in Infection Control Today centered on a common thread: the systems, partnerships, and data that let infection prevention teams catch problems before patients are harmed.
News|Articles|October 15, 2026
WHO 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene: How to Apply Them in Ambulatory and Outpatient Care
Author(s)Jamar Shaw, MD, MPH, CIC
In honor of Global Handwashing Day, Jamar Shaw, MD, MPH, CIC, explains how applying the WHO 5 Moments to actual care sequences can reduce transmission risks in ambulatory settings.
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“Gel in, gel out” has become a familiar shorthand for hand hygiene: clean hands when entering a room and again when leaving. The reminder is useful, but in ambulatory care, it can become a mental shortcut that obscures what hand hygiene is designed to interrupt. Organisms do not recognize doorways. Transmission depends on what the hands touched, what they are about to touch, and what happens next.
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