Refractive Surgery Blog

According to the December 2007 "Anesthesiology News," British physicians will no longer wear white coats or ties. New rules issued by the U.K. Departmant of Health have mandated a "bare below the elbows" dress code. That code includes jewelry, watches, white coats and neck ties during all clinical activities. The rules are based on a small body of literature that examined the risk for transmisssion of pathogenic microorganisms. Of particular concern is the transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the "superbug" resistant to nearly every available antibiotic.

In the United States, the push has been to maintain professional dress. This differnece in approach to dress is because, according to one study, patients "overwhelmingly favor physicians in professional attire with a white coat" and because the link to infections and physician's clothing is not that well studied. There is scant evidence that a physician's attire affects rates of hospital-acquired infections, particularly infections with multifactorial causes like MRSA.

Labels: Infection