FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
San Diego, CA, January 29, 2026 — AseptiScope®, the medical technology company pioneering touch-free stethoscope hygiene, today announced the launch of a new National Patient Safety Initiative, marking a significant milestone as the company surpasses a major growth threshold in U.S. healthcare adoption. As antimicrobial‑resistant pathogens continue to spread at alarming rates, AseptiScope’s awareness campaign underscores a central, unaddressed threat to patient safety: contaminated stethoscopes are transmitting pathogens between patients every day in U.S. healthcare facilities, yet no national hygiene standard exists to control this risk.
While hand hygiene has been a priority for decades, clinicians routinely place contaminated stethoscopes directly onto patients immediately after washing their hands, an oversight that undermines core infection prevention efforts across the country.
“Stethoscopes are used in billions of patient assessments annually, but unlike hand hygiene or device disinfection, there has never been a universal policy ensuring they are safe for patient contact,” said Scott Mader, AseptiScope CEO & Co-Founder. “Pathogens, including drug‑resistant ‘superbugs’, move freely from patient to patient because, despite the wealth of data, there is simply no expectation, no protocol, and no standard in place. Our National Patient Safety Initiative aims to change that.”
A Growing National Footprint
AseptiScope’s flagship solution, The DiskCover® System, is helping advance stethoscope hygiene practices in over 70 healthcare provider organizations, reinforcing the rapid market adoption of touch‑free stethoscope hygiene and the urgent need for structural change in infection prevention practices. Hospitals and clinics using The DiskCover System are already reporting measurable improvements in hygiene compliance, patient safety, and patient satisfaction.
One compelling example comes from a team of infection preventionists at the VA Medical Center in Memphis, TN, where central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), among the most serious and costly healthcare-associated infections in U.S. hospitals, rose during the pandemic. Naomi Ragsdale, RN, and Wendy Simpson, RN, identified the stethoscope as a very contaminated vector that was being used routinely and in close proximity to the central venous line in patients. Integrating The DiskCover System into the protocol allowed for fully clean stethoscope contact for the first time, and with high compliance rates. The results were profound: an 84% reduction in life‑threatening central line–associated infections following implementation, signaling the transformative potential of closing the stethoscope contamination gap.
These results were presented at the 2025 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) NTI conference, where it received tremendous attention. National leaders in advanced practice nursing have been elevating this important result in publications, educational programming, and leadership conferences. One such leader is Kathleen Vollman, current President of the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses, who will be educating advanced practice nursing experts from around the country at the 2026 National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists Conference. Vollman emphasized the implications: “The stethoscope has been a problem without a solution for a long time, and it seems we finally have what we need here. Tools like this are elegant in their simplicity but have a huge impact on healthcare. Ultimately, innovation like this saves patient lives, saves time for our clinical teams, and saves money for our hospitals.”
“These early outcomes are exactly why this national initiative is needed,” added Mader, “Hand hygiene alone cannot stop pathogen transmission if the stethoscope, a device used on nearly every patient, continues to move from room to room without protection. The data are clear: without stethoscope hygiene, our infection prevention systems remain incomplete and our patients remain vulnerable.”
About the National Patient Safety Initiative
AseptiScope’s multi‑phase initiative will include:
- National awareness and education campaigns for clinicians, infection preventionists, executives, and patient‑safety leaders
- Evidence‑based resources illustrating the risk of unprotected stethoscope use
- Partnerships with frontline organizations working to combat antimicrobial resistance
- Visibility at major healthcare conferences, including nurse leadership, infection prevention, and health tech gatherings
- Promotion of touch‑free, automated hygiene standards that align device safety with modern infection‑control expectations
The initiative aims to elevate stethoscope hygiene to the same level of urgency and standardization as hand hygiene, a step that experts widely agree is long overdue.
About AseptiScope®
AseptiScope is a San Diego-based medical innovation company dedicated to advancing patient safety through touch‑free clinical hygiene technology. Its flagship product, The DiskCover® System, is the first fully automated stethoscope barrier solution designed to eliminate device‑to‑patient pathogen transmission. AseptiScope partners with healthcare providers nationwide to strengthen infection prevention practices and protect patients from avoidable exposure.
Media Contact
Name: Anthony Pham
Title: Market Development Director
Email: apham@aseptiscope.com
Phone: (858) 382-8142
Website: www.aseptiscope.com