Dirty clothes and doctors!

As if healthcare professionals did not already have enough to worry about, it seems as though their clothes may be working against them. In a recent study where cultures were obtained from the uniforms of nurses and physicians, up to 60% of hospital staff’s uniforms are colonized with potentially pathogenic bacteria, including drug-resistant organisms. As noted by the authors, the maximal contamination occurs in areas of greatest hand contact (ie, pockets and cuffs), allowing recontamination of already washed hands. The authors acknowledged that the scope of the research was limited and it remained to be determined whether these bacteria could be transferred to patients and cause clinically relevant infection.

Study: Am J Infect Control 2011;39:555-9.)doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2010.12.016

Are GPs better at communication?

GP observers and patient observers performed quality assessments of Dutch General Practice consultations on hypertension videotaped in 1982-1984 and 2000-2001 [Butalid L, Verhaak PFM, Tromp F, et al. BMJ Open (2011). doi:10.1136]. GPs, although more task-orientated (according to the authors) seem to be getting better. Both GPs and patients rated the 2000-2001 consultations as better, in terms of medical technical quality, psychosocial quality and the quality of interpersonal behaviour. Great study and interesting data. The authors admit that the GP ratings may have suffered from a ‘halo effect’ and they don’t have a complete answer for why the patient ratings agreed with the GPs, given one would expect patients would prefer a more affective style communication. However, the authors don’t discuss the possibility that being a patient and judging a consultation externally may prompt different evaluation needs. It would of been useful to also have data from the actual patients involved in the research.