Improper doffing technique — removing contaminated PPE in a sequence or manner that risks self-contamination — remains one of the most consistently documented sources of healthcare worker exposure risk, even among staff who correctly don PPE and follow proper precautions throughout patient contact. The moment of removal, precisely because it happens after the clinically demanding part of the encounter, is where technique compliance most often slips.
Why Doffing Is Uniquely Error-Prone
Doffing happens under conditions that work against careful technique — staff are often fatigued after a demanding patient encounter, moving quickly to the next task, and doffing alone without a colleague observing or coaching correct sequence, unlike donning which often happens with more deliberate preparation and sometimes peer verification.
What Technology-Assisted Solutions Offer
- Step-by-step visual guidance systems mounted at doffing stations, providing real-time sequence prompts rather than relying entirely on memorized training
- Camera-based technique monitoring in some higher-acuity settings, providing objective technique feedback data for training and quality improvement rather than relying solely on periodic direct observation
- Simplified, standardized doffing station design that physically structures the removal sequence through station layout, reducing the cognitive load of remembering the correct order
Building the Case for Investment
Facilities weighing investment in doffing compliance technology should consider it against the same framework used for other infection prevention technology investment — comparing the cost against the documented cost and risk of a single healthcare worker exposure event, which tends to make even a meaningful technology investment look favorable.
Facilities improving PPE compliance programs can review Healix Medical Supply's infection control catalog.
