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With widespread adoption of safer sharps in hospitals, needlesticks declined by more than half for some of the most hazardous devices. Safety has become the norm in phlebotomy. Needle devices are placed in sharps containers instead of being left on bed linens or carts, where someone else may be stuck.
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Training and education of health care workers is an important aspect of preventing transmission of flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers this specific recommendation:
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The problem of fatigued medical residents has gotten the attention of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
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Current ACGME standard (2003)
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Hospitals have been placed on notice: They must address the hazards of workplace violence.
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In a Sentinel Event Alert, The Joint Commission offered the following recommendations for reducing the risk of violence in hospitals:
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Hospitals are not the "safe havens" they once were. That is the cautionary message of a recent Sentinel Event Alert by the Joint Commission accrediting body, which focuses on attacks on patients.
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In new guidelines for Interferon Gamma Release Assays (IGRAs), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers these recommendations.
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If you want employees to comply with sharps safety, then their supervisors have to require it. That is a strong message that emerged from a survey of paramedics related to bloodborne pathogen exposures.
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The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health offers the following recommendations for employers and employees to prevent bloodborne pathogen exposures among paramedics and other emergency workers:
