Universal Masking in Health Care Settings: Poised for Return?

IDWeek 2023: Infectious disease specialist, Gopi Patel, MD, discusses universal masking in health care settings.

This article is part of our IDWeek 2023 coverage. You can find all of our news here.

"It's part of our toolkit, we have to be able to use it wisely," said Gopi Patel, MD, to Patient Care Online when asked her thoughts on universal masking in health care settings at IDWeek 2023, held October 11-15 in Boston, MA.

Dr Patel, who is the medical director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Mount Sinai Health System, gave a presentation at the meeting titled “Respiratory Virus Infection Prevention and Management, From the Immunosuppressed Patient to the Healthcare Provider" during a symposium on infection prevention and immunocompromised hosts. Topics included respiratory viruses (eg, SARS-CoV-2, influenza) in immunocompromised patients, the role of health care professionals (HCPs) in nosocomial transmission, presenteeism among HCPs, and the utilization of infection prevention measures (eg, masking, wearing personal protective equipment) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More of the conversation in the video below.