Infection Control Today Magazine

Sharps Safety

Needlestick Safety Remains a Concern for Healthcare Professionals

Despite legislation and continued focus across the U.S. to improve sharps safety, needlestick injuries (NSIs) resulting in the exposure to infectious disease continue to be a major issue facing all healthcare professionals. Lynn Hadaway, MEd, RN, BC, CRNI, who has more than ...More
Yesterday
Posted in News, PPE & Standard Precautions
Premier, Safe Injection Practices Coalition Release Meeting Proceedings

In the past decade, failures to follow safe injection practices (e.g., misuse of syringes, needles and vials) have resulted in dozens of outbreaks across a wide variety of U.S. healthcare settings. These events required notification of greater than 125,000 patients, ...More
2 weeks ago
Posted in News, Policies and Practice
Infusion Nurses Society's Fall Meeting to Highlight Technology and Best Practice

Infusion nurses will meet in Los Angeles Nov. 18-20 to add to their clinical knowledge at the Infusion Nurses Society's (INS) Fall National Academy of Infusion Therapy and One-Day Program. The One-Day Program, held on Friday and sponsored by B Braun/Aesculap Academy, is ...More
November 15, 2011
Posted in News
FDA Launches Website on Safe Disposal of Used Needles and Other Sharps

The Food and Drug Administration has launched a new website for patients and caregivers on the safe disposal of needles and other sharps that are used at home, at work and while traveling. The website will help people understand the public health risks created by improperly ...More
November 11, 2011
Posted in News, PPE & Standard Precautions
Improperly Discarded Sharps from Home Care Can Be Dangerous

Many people use needles, syringes and lancets to manage their medical conditions at home. But the haphazard disposal of these devices is putting a lot of others, including waste-disposal workers, housekeepers, family members and children, at risk of injury and serious ...More
November 8, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens, PPE & Standard Precautions
OSHA Most Frequently Cites ASCs for Bloodborne Pathogen Violations

Although more than half of the surgeries in the U.S. are performed inambulatory care centers, ambulatory surgery center (ASC) resources and safety oversight may lag significantly behind those of their hospital counterparts. In the past four years, the Occupational Safety ...More
November 1, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens
FDA Grants 510(k) Clearance for Introcan Safety 3

Expanding its offering of passive safety devices to protect both clinicians and patients from needlestick injuries (NSIs), B. Braun Medical Inc. (B. Braun) recently announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted 510(k) clearance of the company’s Introcan ...More
October 19, 2011
Posted in News
Healthcare Worker Risks from Short Peripheral Catheter Insertion

Insertion of short peripheral intravenous catheters is an extremely frequent procedure in many healthcare settings. In fact, an estimated 330 million catheters are sold annually in the United States. Nurses are very familiar with the risk of these devices to patients ...More
August 10, 2011
Posted in Articles, Infections & Pathogens
Achieving OSHA Sharps Safety Compliance in Non-Hospital Settings

More than half of non-hospital healthcare settings are in violation of OSHA law. As integrated distribution networks and hospitals acquire these "alternate care" facilities, they also become at risk of non-compliance. Due to a steady migration of healthcare from the ...More
August 1, 2011
Posted in News, Policies and Practice
Radiologist Aims to Prevent Needlesticks, Invents Safety Device

The Safety Shield in action. Radiologist Dr. Bruce Hedgepeth of St. John's, part of Sisters of Mercy Health System, knew there had to be a better way to prevent himself and his colleagues from a common health care workplace danger -- accidental needlesticks. Needlestick ...More
July 14, 2011
Posted in News