Your doctor wants you to ask him a question.

The next time you wind up in the doctor’s office, clinic or hospital, ask your doctor this question: 

“Did you wash your hands?” He or she will not be offended. Hospitals, in particular, want patients to be more assertive as they are under a lot of pressure to meet strict hand hygiene protocol. 

Antibiotic-resistant infections have been linked to roughly 100,000 deaths a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. John Jernigan, director of the CDC’s hospital infection-prevention efforts says hand hygiene is probably the most important thing healthcare workers can do to protect their patients from infection. Doctor’s and nurses should be washing their hands in front of you. If you don’t see them do it, go ahead and ask.