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Osha Optics, Llc News: Needlesticks And Osha

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Needlestick injuries and other sharps-related injuries which expose workers to bloodborne pathogens continue to be an important public health concern. In 1991, OSHA issued the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration published the Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens standard in 1991 because of a significant health risk associated with exposure to viruses and other microorganisms that cause bloodborne diseases. Of primary concern are the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses. This standard safeguards employees from occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials. OSHA delineates concise measures employers must implement to reduce/eliminate potential bloodborne hazards. OSHA mandates each employer with employees subject to occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens must establish a written Exposure Control Plan designed to eliminate or minimize employee exposure. The Exposure Control Plan shall be reviewed and updated at least annually and whenever necessary to reflect new or modified tasks and procedures which affect occupational exposure and to reflect new or revised employee positions with occupational exposure.

Congress passed the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act directing OSHA to revise the bloodborne pathogens standard to establish in greater detail, requirements that compel employers to identify and make use of effective and safer medical devices. That revision was published on Jan. 18, 2001, and became effective April 18, 2001.

The revision to OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard added new requirements including additions to the exposure control plan and keeping a sharps injury log. The revision specifies in greater detail the engineering controls, such as safer medical devices, which must be used to reduce or eliminate worker exposure. Furthermore, OSHA requires the employer’s Exposure Control Plan, including an annual review and update to reflect changes in technology that eliminate or reduce exposure to bloodborne pathogens. The employer must: take into account innovations in medical procedure and technological developments that reduce the risk of exposure (e.g., newly available medical devices designed to reduce needlesticks); and document consideration and use of appropriate, commercially-available, and effective safer devices (e.g., describe the devices identified as candidates for use, the method(s) used to evaluate those devices, and justification for the eventual selection).

A vital component of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act of 2001 requires each employer who is required to establish an Exposure Control Plan to solicit input from non-managerial employees responsible for direct patient care who are potentially exposed to injuries from contaminated sharps in the identification, evaluation, and selection of effective engineering and work practice controls and shall document the solicitation in the Exposure Control Plan.

The 2001 revisions to the bloodborne pathogens standard clearly states that each employer shall establish and maintain a sharps injury log for the recording of percutaneous injuries from contaminated sharps. The information in the sharps injury log shall be recorded and maintained in such manner as to protect the confidentiality of the injured employee. The sharps injury log shall contain, at a minimum:

+ The type and brand of device involved in the incident
+ The department or work area where the exposure incident occurred
+ An explanation of how the incident occurred

It is this author’s opinion that OSHA will continue to monitor leading medical surveillance systems and adopt further controls to reduce or eliminate occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens in healthcare environments.

For more information on Needlesticks & OSHA feel free to email OSHA Optics, LLC at:
Compliance@OSHAOptics.com

For information on OSHA’s mandated annual training requirements for healthcare workers, we encourage you to visit OSHA Optics, LLC’s website at:
www.OSHAOptics.com

Thank you.

OSHA Optics, LLC