INFECTION CONTROL: Don’t shake hands with patients

The authors, who are with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, advocate against clinicians shaking hands with patients for infection control reasons.  They cite literature about the transmission of pathogens via handshaking.  A suggested approach to banning handshakes involves a public awareness campaign and the promotion of an alternative greeting such as the Namaste or the salaam (peace) gesture.

Source:  Sklansky, M., Nadkarni, N., and Ramirez-Avila, L.  Banning the handshake from the health care setting.  JAMA, May 15, 2014.  Click here for access to the full text: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1873637 Posted by AHA Resource Center (312) 422-2050, rc@aha.org