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.