AMBER HOGAN MITCHELL – MPH, DrPH
Senior industrial hygienist at the U.S. Department of Labor OSHA specializing in national regulatory enforcement issues. OSHA National Bloodborne Pathogens Coordinator.
Copyright 2009 by Virgo Publishing.
http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/

Occupational exposure to sharps contaminated with bloodborne pathogens continues to be an occupational health and safety concern among workers providing patient care. Sharps injuries have been substantially reduced in acute-care settings through increased awareness, thorough training, and technological advancement of safety engineered needles on syringes, blood collection devices, IV insertion sets and lancets. Within these families of devices, there have been multiple generations of safety designs that require the user to actively slide a sheath, flip a clip, advance a plunger, or add an extra aggressive push. Today, there are very few safety-engineered medical devices that require no active step to make a device safer during use, after use and prior to disposal. This brief report is an analysis of current national guidance for passivity in safety engineered medical devices. Read more