BLOODBORNE INFECTIOUS DISEASES: HIV/AIDS, HEPATITIS B, HEPATITIS C

Safer Medical Device Implementation in Health Care Facilities

NIOSH recommends that health care facilities use safer medical devices to protect workers from needlestick and other sharps injuries. Since the passage of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act in 2000 and the subsequent revision of the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard, all health care facilities are required to use safer medical devices.

Sharing Lessons Learned

To assist health care facilities that are working through this process, NIOSH has asked a small number of health care facilities to share their experiences on how they implemented safer medical devices in their settings. These facilities have agreed to describe how each step was accomplished, and also to discuss the barriers they encountered and how they were resolved, and most importantly, lessons learned. To maintain confidentiality, we have removed all corporate or personal identifiers from their submissions. The health care facilities are located in 4 major cities in the United States that were selected because the AIDS rates for those cities were above the national and state averages.

The health care facilities will be following the process as described in the NIOSH publication, Alert: Preventing Needlestick Injuries in Health Care Settings .