" ... Including about 100,000 annually at a cost of $30B in North America alone. ... Inadequate hand hygiene remains a frequent and modifiable contributing factor, as established from hospital outbreaks of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, and other hospital-acquired infections. ... ... A classical study, for example, found that physicians had about half the rate of compliance when compared with nurses (30% vs 52%, p<0.001). ... Here, we explore a different account for why the problem might not be solved by changing the personalities or motivations of physicians. Specifically, we suggest that the circumstances surrounding physicians in hospitals are rife with behavioral factors conducive to failures of hand hygiene."
Why even good physicians do not wash their hands.
