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Plastic cover for stethoscopes may curb hospital-acquired infections
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A new lightweight plastic cover for stethoscopes will reportedly “dramatically reduce” hospital-acquired infections, according to the physician who developed the invention.
Richard H. Ma, MD, chair of the hospitalist department at Saints Medical Center, received a patent for the Stethguard. The device is a V-shaped clear plastic cover that protects the head of the stethoscope up to its neck, thereby protecting the most biologically active part of the scope.
A 2009 study from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School indicated that roughly one out of three stethoscopes used by emergency department personnel contained methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The study also indicated that the longer an instrument remains unsanitized, the higher the probability exists of it carrying MRSA.
“Using this cover will help curb nosocomial hospital-acquired infections,” Ma said in a press release. “I developed this cover in response to the alarming rise nationally of these types of infections.”
The CDC advises stethoscope cleanings between patient exams, as well as the use of dedicated room equipment for patients carrying a communicable disease. In 2008, Medicare began monitoring hospital-acquired infections — referred to as errors — and basing reimbursements on the level of errors. The Stethguard is reportedly a way to help minimize these errors and increase reimbursements.
“As health care providers, we are entrusted with our patients’ health and well-being,” Ma said in the release. “As such, we must do everything in our power to avoid inadvertently infecting our patients.”
For more information:
- Merlin MA. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2009;13:71-74.
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