“One and Only” posters instruct on safe injection practices
Concern about patient-to-patient transmission of hepatitis and HIV in non-hospital settings has prompted the “One and Only Campaign,” a coalition of the CDC, patient advocacy groups, healthcare professional organizations, and industry partners to promote safe injection practices. According to the “One and Only” web site:
- 1% to 3% of healthcare providers reuse the same needle and/or syringe on multiple patients.
- 31% of providers indicate that they reuse needles and/or syringes on the same patient
The campaign seeks to educate both patients and providers about their responsibility to ensure protection against healthcare-acquired infections, particularly in outpatient and ambulatory settings. When patients and providers remind healthcare professionals that syringes cannot be reused, then it will become second nature to check to make sure each patient gets a new syringe each time they are injected, according to the campaign announcement, February 11.
The campaign is reinforcing the safe injection practice message through patient and healthcare worker resource web pages which include questions for patients to ask before injection procedures and free posters to remind providers about the campaign’s slogan: “One Needle, One Syringe, and Only One Time.”
Click here to download the posters shown below.
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Can I use that when you are done? You wouldn’t share this with anyone… Your provider shouldn’t share your syringe |
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1 needle 1 syringe + 1 time 0 infections |
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Some things should not be reused |
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David LaHoda
David LaHoda, the managing editor of Medical Environment Update and OSHA Watch, has produced healthcare training videos and consulted for medical practices and ambulatory healthcare facilities.
David has written 196 posts.
Comments
What is OSHA’s position on reusing a needle on the same patient? Specifically, if the skin is prepped, a needle is inserted through the skin. Can this needle be reinserted (reused)on the same patient again through the same prepped area?
First of all, the skin prep stuff is irrelevant to OSHA, as skin prep is a patient IC and safety concern.
So the question focuses on handling and reusing a contaminated needle, and I’m sure an OSHA inspector can make a good case that handling contaminated needles is much more hazardous than handling clean needles.
So, unless you can make a case based on medical necessity or the lack of commercially feasible alternatives, I’d say that the example you provide is a violation.
Clinical experts tell me that the reuse of a needle on the same patient is a very rare situation in their experiences.
I tried to download the pdf of the posters and it always came up connection failed. Any other source I can use?
David
The same needle is frequently reused when injecting a local anesthetic-the Anesthesiologist will reinsert the same needle multiple times when injecting a local for a block or central line. Dermatologists do the same. This is a very common practice.
I’m also having issues downloading the posters. Let us know when the link is repaired or if there is another site we can go to.
The link should be fixed now. Let us know if you experience any other problems, and thanks for bringing that to our attention.
I have heard that nurses reuse the same needle when attempting to cannulate veins during PICC procedures. What is OSHA’s take on this.
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