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Podcast: Hallberg's Picture of Health, episode 3

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Some historians believe the handshake originated as a gesture to show that neither person is holding a weapon.
Indranil Mukherjee/Getty Images

Hallberg's Picture of Health is a new podcast from MPR News that offers an expanded version of MPR News host Tom Crann's weekly conversations with medical commentator Dr. Jon Hallberg on health and health care.

This episode is dedicated to the germaphobe in all of us. In some ways, health care settings such as doctors' offices and emergency rooms are the most dangerous places to be in terms of exposure to germs. Since we all go to the doctor, should we be afraid to even shake our physician's hand?

Host Tom Crann and Dr. Hallberg discuss a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association that recommends banning such handshakes, and how far we need to go to prevent the spread of germs.

• Subscribe to "Hallberg's Picture of Health" on iTunes