UK wristwatch ban may interfere with patient care
Patient Safety Monitor: Global Edition, January 8, 2008
A recent British Medical Journal study found physicians often cannot accurately judge pulse and respiratory rates without the use of a clock or watch with a second hand, reports BBC News.
The news arrives just as U.K. hospitals are about to implement a ban on wristwatches for physicians. The Department of Health advised hospitals to ban physicians from wearing watches as part of a new policy that prohibits any jewelry or clothing below the elbows to ward off infections such as Clostridium difficile and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
In the study, most physicians could not accurately distinguish abnormal rates. Most hospitals do not allow clocks in view near patient beds.
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