Only 13 percent of emergency medical providers wash their hands before coming into contact with a patient, according to a study from New Brunswick, N.J.-based Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
The preliminary results of the study were presented at the American College of Emergency Physicians Conference in October and discussed with CBS.
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The survey also revealed only 52 percent of emergency care respondents wear gloves every time they come in contact with a patient, and only one third of emergency care respondents wash their hands after performing invasive procedures.
Josh Bucher, MD, a resident at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital and one of the study’s authors, told CBS that washing hands and wearing gloves should be a combined practice. He added physicians and healthcare providers should wash hands whenever they touch anyone or anything at all.
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