We’ve known since the 1840s that hand washing is the best way to prevent hospital-acquired infections, yet compliance among health care workers rarely exceeds 50 percent. And doctors are the worst offenders.5 One study found that even in a medical intensive care unit, slapping up a “contact precautions” sign (signaling particularly high risk of infection) leads less than a quarter of doctors to properly wash their hands or use a hand sanitizer when treating patients.6 That’s right. Not even one doctor out of four washed his or her hands before laying them on the ill.
