Diane,
I totally understand the need for needle stick safety. As the
executive director for the National Alliance for the Primary
Prevention of Sharps Injuries (NAPPSI), I have become immersed in this
literature in the past 6 months. So it is critical to safety.
But the law does allow for the use of needles without safety when
there is no other option. So to deny this medication to a patient when
there is no other option may be going a little too far. I am very
familiar also with medications in those pens where a needle must be
attached because I am taking one myself. The ones I have seen are 31
g, 3/16 inch long. Just as a reminder, the greatest risk of
seroconversion comes from needles used to access a vein or artery that
are blood-filled when the needlestick injury occurs. I am not sure if
any of these ultrafine needles have been implicated in any case of
seroconversion. A SC needle would not be filled with blood after
injection, although it is still contaminated.
While I would support this administrators desire for healthcare
worker safety, we also must be realistic about getting the most
appropriate meds to the patient. Has anyone contacted the drug
manufacturer to see if there is another option for administering this
drug? Lynn
At 7:09 PM -0400 7/30/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Thanks to all who responded to my inquiry. The family in the LTC facility wanted to use the ultra fine lancets because they stated they did not hurt as badly. Unfortunately there was a needle stick for the nurse, (the resident is unable to do her own blood sugar check). By informing the family of the law regarding safety needles for healthcare workers, the nurses will only use safety needles now. Let me share with you also that there is a drug on the market, Forteo - for osteoporosis, that is in a pen that the nurse was having to attach a needle to the pen, give the sub q injection daily, and then unscrew the needle for discard. This presented a potential for a stick, so the doctor has been notified and the drug must be changed. The family is wanting the resident to have this drug, but the administrator has stated that his nurses will not be put at risk of a needle stick. If the resident can do their own injection, or the family wants to do the fingerstick or injection according to the doctor's orders, than the facility will supply them with the non-safety needles, otherwise it is safety needles only for the nurses.
Diane Jiles,RN-CRNI
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--
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RNC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
126 Main Street, PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
http://www.hadawayassociates.com
office 770-358-7861
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
126 Main Street, PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
http://www.hadawayassociates.com
office 770-358-7861
