Rodrigues LA, Kachala SS, Adusumilli PS. Doctor, did you wash your hands?  The National Medical Journal of India. 2010; 23:111-12 This communication talks about the historical event where the Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmleweis, in 1847, discovered that something as simple as handwashing between examining / delivering pregnant women, eliminated fatal infections. At that time, the medical fraternity pooh-poohed his ideas and went to the extent of committing him to a mental hospital where he was beaten to death! Now in the 21st Century, handwashing compliance rates and reduction of hospital acquired infections are being researched, guidelines constantly updated and cost…