PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Leif Hass TI - Losing Touch in the Era of Superbugs? AID - 10.1370/afm.1164 DP - 2010 Sep 01 TA - The Annals of Family Medicine PG - 461--463 VI - 8 IP - 5 4099 - http://www.annfammed.org/content/8/5/461.short 4100 - http://www.annfammed.org/content/8/5/461.full SO - Ann Fam Med2010 Sep 01; 8 AB - Nosocomial infections are increasingly multidrug resistant and at times more virulent. As such, they pose real threats to patients and clinicians. In this essay the author discusses his own methacillin-resistant staphylococcus infection and how it has affected his work in the hospital. In so doing, he reflects on the value of touch in the doctor-patient relationship. In particular, he discusses how gloves serve as a barrier to infection but also create a small distance between the doctors and their patients. The implications of contact precautions must be considered as we reflect on balancing patient-centered care with infection control.