Doctors' neckties can make patients sick

The next time your doctor wears a necktie, feel free to compliment him on his taste, but immediately ask him to tuck it in his shirt and then wash his hands. Neckties are the carriers of a myriad of germs and bacteria. If the tie rubs against you or your physician touches you after adjusting his tie, the chances for contracting an infection are high.

In the Partnership for Patient Safety video, "Things You Should Know Before Entering the Hospital," experts recommend that you be sure everyone who is going to be touching you, your food, linens, or anything in your surroundings wash their hands first. In the film, various medical personnel are asked how they would react if a patient requested that they wash their hands prior to entering the room. The consensus was that they would be delighted to have the reminder.

Reports from the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, suggest that as many as 2,000,000 patients contract an infection from hospitals or medical centers each year, resulting in 90,000 deaths. Moreover, it is estimated that staph infections cause nearly 12,000 deaths each year, adding up to increased hospital bills of $9,500,000,000. The tie is just one harbinger for infection. Others include cell phones, EKG wiring, computer keypads, telephones, and floors as thriving sources for infectious bacteria.

Most hospitals have sanitizers hanging on the wall in rooms, making it easier for medical personnel and visitors to keep their hands clean. A study by the American Society for Microbiology contends that the bacteria which cause many hospital-acquired infections can survive for days--and sometimes weeks--on bed linens, computer keyboards, and even on nurses' acrylic fingernails. University of Wisconsin-Madison infectious diseases specialist Dennis Maki found that EKG wiring commonly used to monitor patients' hearts after surgery and in intensive care units often carry a variety of drug-resistant germs.

"Human error is a fact in health care just as in the rest of life, and we all must be educated on what to be watchful of regarding things that might go wrong," observes Martin J. Hatlie, former lobbyist for the American Medical Association and now president of Partnership for Patient Safety, Chicago.

Not surprisingly, the DVD stresses the importance of having someone with you around the clock as a patient advocate for the entire length of your hospital stay.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Society for the Advancement of Education
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group