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Tip of the week: Be compliant with Bloodborne Pathogen standard

Hospital Safety Connection, January 26, 2012

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OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens standard took effect in March 1992 and was designed to protect healthcare workers from contracting dangerous bloodborne illnesses from the patients they cared for. In November 2000, another landmark bill was added to the standard in the form of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, which ­required facilities to develop an exposure control plan and evaluate safety sharps as part of their bloodborne pathogens program.

Nearly two decades later, some healthcare facilities still struggle to comply with the Bloodborne Pathogens standard, according to a two-part article published in the AORN Journal.

Consider the following ways to improve your facility's compliance:

• Update your OSHA manual. Policies and ­procedures are the backbone of compliance and should be ­updated as needed, particularly the exposure control plan, says Kathy Rooker, safety officer and owner of Columbus Healthcare & Safety Consultants in ­Canal Winchester, OH. "A lot of the doctors think they can handle it, and they think that's by just putting the manual on the shelf," Rooker says. "I tell them if I can blow dust off of it, we've got a problem."
• Find the root cause of injuries. Sharps injuries are not always caused by noncompliance, Davidson says. Perhaps the culprit is a new safety device that requires more training for staff members, or a resident who has less experience with safety needles.
• Establish a safety zone. One way to reduce sharps ­injuries in the surgical suite is to establish a safety zone in which surgeons place scalpels on a tray instead of handing them off, Davidson says. Then the ­surgical tech is able to handle the tray, rather than the instrument.
• Don't use cost as an excuse. Some doctors' offices will argue that safety needles are too expensive, but expense is not an excuse, Rooker says. "Doctors will say, ‘I'm the only one using them, so I don't have to use them,' " she says. "That's a misnomer. Why not set a good example for your staff?"

Find similar tips at the Hospital Safety Center.

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