ER Doctor: Bring Back the Patient Handshake
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- Zain Khawaja, M.D., an emergency medicine resident at Northwestern University, recounts shaking hands with a patient facing a suspected oncologic emergency, writing the gesture 'appeared to ease some of the tension in the room' before the medical evaluation intensified.
- A JAMA Internal Medicine survey of 415 adults found more than 78% wanted their physician to shake their hand; researchers also reviewed 123 outpatient visit recordings and recommended physicians shake hands while remaining attentive to nonverbal cues.
- A 2023 study found that simply placing a chair near the bedside made physicians more likely to sit during patient encounters and improved patient satisfaction and communication scores without increasing time spent in the room.
- The COVID-19 pandemic eliminated handshakes from hospitals through physical distancing and PPE, and Khawaja notes that in many places the practice 'never fully returned.'
- Khawaja acknowledges infection risks but argues they should be addressed through hand hygiene and clinical judgment, not by eliminating contact — and that handshakes are clearly inappropriate under isolation precautions or with immunocompromised patients.
- The author emphasizes clinicians should never force a handshake, citing cultural, religious, physical, and personal preferences; alternatives he names include a warm verbal greeting or a hand placed over one's own chest.
Why it matters: In emergency medicine, trust has to be built in minutes — and a JAMA study of 415 adults showed 78% explicitly want physicians to shake their hand. As AI and remote monitoring reshape the field, the author argues clinicians must be more intentional about preserving the human elements that 4 in 5 patients say they value.
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