Four unexpected healthcare hazards that put your patients at risk

Article

A report explained four unexpected healthcare hazards that may be putting your patients at risk.

A report from Fierce Healthcare explained four unexpected healthcare hazards that may be putting your patients at risk.

Dr. Bowling: Snake oil scam claims to restore vision

1. Physician stress and fatigue. Are you getting enough rest? Are you working too many hours? According to the report, primary care physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers may be overworked, stressed, and fatigued, and it is may have a negative impact on the care they provide.

The author cites a report from Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory, which found that fatigue contributed 88.5 percent of medication errors and mistakes related to a procedure, treatment, or test.

2. Drug abuse by healthcare workers.Fierce Healthcare says more than 100,000 healthcare workers abuse or are addicted to prescription drugs, but many don’t seek help for their addiction.

3. Healthcare workers’ clothing. According to the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, jewelry, long sleeves, watches, and ties can all harbor bacteria. New York legislators even proposed prohibiting doctors from wearing ties or long sleeved-shirts while on the job in hopes of cutting down on the spread of dangerous bacteria.

4. Handshakes and elevators. Do you normally greet your patients with a handshake? You may want to update your greeting to a fist bump after one study found handshakes were four times more likely to spread bacteria.

Another threat? Elevator buttons in hospitals have higher concentrations of bacteria than a toilet surface, according to a study published in Open Medicine.

Want to keep both you and your patients safe? Wash your hands regularly and keep hand sanitizer in your office. 

 

Newsletter

Want more insights like this? Subscribe to Optometry Times and get clinical pearls and practice tips delivered straight to your inbox.

Recent Videos
Erin Tomiyama, OD, PhD, FAAO, offers actionable advice for myopia management and perspective for practitioners ready to refine their approach.
Extended lotilaner 0.25% therapy shows meibomian gland benefits
Mitch Ibach, OD, FAAO, details a presentation he gave with Tanner Ferguson, MD, at the Collaborative Care Symposium 2025.
Carolyn Majcher, OD, FAAO, details a Collaborative Care Symposium 2025 presentation given with Prethy Rao, MD.
Mitch Ibach, OD, FAAO, details the importance of identifying the best candidates and practicing comanagement for refractive surgery.
Lori Wright, JD, sat down to talk about a presentation at Collaborative Care Symposium about the risk under federal statutes and how to minimize that risk as an optometrist or an ophthalmic practice.
Rachelle Lin, OD, MS, FAAO, on collaborating more effectively on neovascular retinal cases
Mark Bullimore, MCOptom, PhD, details the importance of preparing optometric students for myopic patient care in a Collaborative Care Symposium (CCS) 2025 presentation.
Peter Hersh, MD, stated that the key takeaway from a handful of presentations he gave at CCS 2025 is that successfully treating patients with keratoconus is identifying the disease early.
Mitch Ibach, OD, FAAO, details the importance to unveiling the underlying cause of dry eye in a CCS 2025 presentation.
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.