--- title: Doctors' Fingers and Stethoscopes Carry Lots of Bacteria description: A new study says doctor's stethoscopes carry lots of bacteria that can be transferred from patient to patient during appointments. Researchers from University of Geneva... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7134509/doctors-stethoscopes-are-germ-ridden-and-disgusting/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-02-28T18:56:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-16T09:43:39.945Z article:section: Health og:title: Doctors' Fingers and Stethoscopes Carry Lots of Bacteria og:description: A new study says doctor's stethoscopes carry lots of bacteria that can be transferred from patient to patient during appointments. Researchers from University of Geneva... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7134509/doctors-stethoscopes-are-germ-ridden-and-disgusting/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd5878bd3470e2379/698a9216e6e84a42232b8f36/467653839.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5150 og:image:height: 2897 og:image:alt: 467653839 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Doctors' Fingers and Stethoscopes Carry Lots of Bacteria twitter:description: A new study says doctor's stethoscopes carry lots of bacteria that can be transferred from patient to patient during appointments. Researchers from University of Geneva... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd5878bd3470e2379/698a9216e6e84a42232b8f36/467653839.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # Doctors' Stethoscopes Are Germ-Ridden and Disgusting > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. 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It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=5c38a51a-a4c6-435d-abd1-8a99f0f334c7&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Feb 28, 2014 6:56 PM UTC  Doctor examining Baby Girl Doctor examining Baby Girl Getty Images—(c) Bjarte Rettedal by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Feb 28, 2014 6:56 PM UTC A new [study](http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/webfiles/images/journals/jmcp/jmcp%5Fpr89%5F2%5F5.pdf) says doctor’s stethoscopes carry lots of bacteria that can be transferred from patient to patient during appointments. Researchers from University of Geneva Hospitals collected and studied bacteria from the fingers, palms, and stethoscopes of three doctors who had 71 patient appointments. They looked specifically for a deadly bacteria called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). They found the most bacteria on the finger tips of the doctors’ dominant hand. However, stethoscopes–specifically the part that comes in contact with patients–came in second, with more bacteria than doctors’ palms. There was a decent amount of MRSA identified. The study is extremely small, so we can’t jump to conclusions, but senior study Dr. Didier Pittet, [told the New York _Times_](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/stethoscopes-as-germ-carriers/?%5Fphp=true&%5Ftype=blogs&%5Fphp=true&%5Ftype=blogs&%5Fphp=true&%5Ftype=blogs&ref=health&%5Fr=2&) that the findings are not surprising, and that many doctors don’t clean their stethoscopes between appointments. 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