A no-rinse alcohol antiseptic and a no-touch dispenser for hand decontamination.

Handwashing has long been recognized as the main way to prevent the spread of infectious agents.' For routine handwashing in hospitals and clinics, antimicrobial agents are probably not needed. However, in certain high-risk situations it makes sense to use an antimicrobial agent' to remove transient and reduce resident microorganisms.2 Alcohol has been described as the "gold standard" for surgical skin preparations"2; it will kill grampositive and gram-negative bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, fungi, and many viruses.3 Alcohol is colorless, has its own cleaning action, and evaporates quickly from the skin.2 In addition to choosing an antiseptic that is acceptable to hospital and clinic personnel, there is a need to improve techniques that will motivate staff to wash hands.' Personnel who work regularly with patients, and other personnel, such as clinical microbiology laboratory technologists, often move from task to task and cannot or do not take the time to wash hands. For