Protocols and checklists help in saving lives and in managing money too

The first line of defence against Covid 19 has turned out to be the simple practice of washing hands.

- Ajit Menon

What seems like a simple practice is actually the most important protocol in the world of healthcare. Protocol is a set of rules and guidelines related to a particular field. In the medical world the protocol of washing hands was first introduced in mid 1800s by Ignaz Semmelweis in Vienna. as a house officer of obstetric clinic he faced a challenge of high maternal mortality rate. On careful observation he concluded that most doctors and medical practitioner did not wash hands before entering the clinic leading to rise in infections and high mortality. Semmelweis recommended that every practitioner scrub his hands with chlorinated lime solution before patient contact. This simple practice brought down the mortality from 16% to 3%. And washing hands since then became a protocol in the medical world.