If it is purchased retail for an individual patient, those insulin syringes
are NON-safety. It has to do with the extra expense for safety insulin
syringes, and patients' insurance WILL NOT pay for the safety ones. We
learned about this problem from our Diabetes CNS who HAS to use what the
patients will use when doing teaching at the bedside. She got a
needlestick, so she was trying to figure out a way to keep her safe with
these non-safety insulin needles. She came up with using the smallest
sharps containers. This applies to the bedside nurses who also must
supervise patients doing their own insulin injections during the teaching
phase.
It was a revelation to the rest of us who made the assumption that safety
syringes and needles were universally mandated.
The thinking is that in the home setting, if the patient gets a needlestick,
it's their own blood so what is the problem? I know this doesn't address
the risk to caregivers; I'm just giving you the facts.
Nadine Nakazawa, RN
PICC Program Coord
Stanford Hospital
From: "Elizabeth Harmon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: needle safety
Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2006 08:11:49 -0800
Diane,
I don't believe it is a state law but it is a OSHA regulation that was then
taken up by JCAHO. It was in regard to needles and sharps. I don't have
the exact verbige but it indicated that all needles and sharps must have a
safety feature and this was to go into effect in 2003, the only items that
are allowed to be use that are non safety is when no other device out there
will do the same thing and is safety. Two items that I can think of are
the Arrow twin Cath Angiocath and the bone marrow needles.
The long term care facilities and RN's must follow OSHA regulations and
JCAHO guidelines.
Go to the OSHA website and send a question to them, you can pose the
question on the JCAHO website. Don't you just love families sometimes. The
new safety lancets are so much nicer.
Betsy Harmon RN CRNI
Vascular Access Team
Critical Care Unit
Alaska Native Medical Center
Anchorage, Alaska
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message -----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2006 7:28 AM
Subject: needle safety
Have a situation where a family member wants the nurses in a long term
care facility to use lancets for their mother that are not safety. Can
anyone tell me how and where to find the law that states that all needle
devices must be safety? Thanks in advance for the info as do not have the
time to research on the web myself. This is why this site is wonderful,
those of us that don't know can contact those that do.
Diane Jiles, RN-CRNI
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