The majority of medical providers, nurses, and patients agree that appearance is important
for patient care. However, at our institution, concerns regarding providers' white
coats as fomites are expressed primarily by providers and nurses, not by patients.
We provide a framework for approaching this important issue through a structured quality-improvement
process.
Key Words
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References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Healthcare-associated infections. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/surveillance/index.html. Accessed July 31, 2013.
- Newly Cleaned physician uniforms and Infrequently Washed White Coats have similar Rates of Bacterial contamination after an 8-Hour Workday: a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of Hospital Medicine. 2011; 6: 177-182
Murphy C. End for traditional doctor’s coat. BBC News. 17 September 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/6998195.stm. Accessed 19 June 2008
Gray S. Superbug fears kill off doctors’ white coats. The Times. 17 September 2007. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/
- Uniform: an evidence review of the microbiological significance of uniforms and uniform policy in the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections.Journal of Hospital Infection. 2007; 66: e301-e307
RID: Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths. Available at: http://www.hospitalinfection.org. Accessed July 31, 2013.
- What to wear today? Effect of doctor’s attire on the trust and confidence of patients.American Journal of Medicine. 2005; 118: 1279-1286
- Healthcare Personnel attire in Non-Operating Room settings.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2014; 35: 107-121
- Are we dressed to impress? A descriptive survey assessing patients’ preference of doctors’ attire in the hospital setting.Clinical Medicine. 2009; 9: 519-524
- Is it time for an evidence based uniform for doctors?.BMJ. 2012; 345: e8286
Article info
Footnotes
Financial support included the University of Washington Patient Safety Innovations Program.
Conflicts of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
Published by Elsevier Inc.
