What Is an Example of a Medical Device Used to Protect Agains Bloodbourne Pthegens

Designed to protect employees from the health hazards in the medical industry, OSHA'southward Bloodborne Pathogens standard incorporates a number of safeguards to prevent occupational exposure to pathogens including Hepatitis B (HBV), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and other potentially infectious materials (OPIMs).

Learn more in this video or the transcription beneath near not only what OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens standard is, its past amendments, the safeguards information technology includes, who it applies to, and how to ensure you're staying compliant, simply also some of its background information like examples and a definition of what a bloodborne pathogen is.

Video Transcription

What Is the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard?

As amended by the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act of 2000, OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens standard lays out a broad range of safeguards designed to protect employees from exposure to infectious materials like blood, body fluids, unfixed homo tissues, and other potentially infectious materials (OPIMs).

The Bloodborne Pathogens standard requires using a combination of protections including:

• Exposure control plans
• Universal and standard precautions (Upwardly/SP)
• Vaccinations
• Personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Almanac employee training

What Is the Needlestick Prophylactic and Prevention Act?

Since sharps injuries are still a serious and recurring upshot in healthcare today, the Needlestick Condom and Prevention Act was added to OSHA'southward Bloodborne Pathogens standard in 2000.

The Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act is designed for implementing sharps-specific protections, including:

• Using needleless injection devices
• Adopting sharps with engineered protections
• Maintaining a sharps injury log

What Are Bloodborne Pathogens?

Bloodborne pathogens are infectious organisms in blood that can cause illness in humans if they're exposed to them. Types of pathogens include:

• Hepatitis B (HBV)
• Hepatitis C (HCV)
• Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
• OPIMs (Other Potentially Infectious Materials)

What Are OPIMs?

There are three master categories of other potentially infectious materials:

Torso Fluids

• Semen
• Vaginal secretions
• Cerebrospinal fluid
• Synovial fluid
• Pleural fluid
• Pericardial fluid
• Peritoneal fluid
• Amniotic fluid
• Trunk fluids contaminated with blood

Unfixed Tissues/Organs

• Tissues and organs from humans living or dead (not including dead skin)

Contaminated Materials

• Jail cell or tissue cultures containing HIV
• Organ cultures
• Cultures and other solutions containing HIV or HBV

Where Does OSHA'southward Bloodborne Pathogens Standard Utilize?

The Bloodborne Pathogens standard applies to all employees who may be reasonably anticipated to contact blood or other pathogens, but to be more than specific there are iv main groups of workers who employers will need to provide protections for:

• Employees with direct patient contact
• Employees who depict blood
• Employees who work with blood and other fluids
• Employees who handle contaminated medical equipment

How to Ensure Compliance With the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard

Taking steps similar using personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce the chance of bloodborne pathogens exposure in the workplace is of import both for employee protection likewise as compliance with OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens standard.

Besides PPE though, compliance also requires implementing an exposure control plan with details on other employee protections like vaccinations, engineering and work practice controls, and annual employee training.

Implementing Universal, Standard, and Manual-Based Precautions

The Bloodborne Pathogens standard includes three fundamental approaches to infection control—universal, standard, and transmission-based precautions.

Universal Precautions (UP)

Initially implemented in the 1980s, Up is an approach to infection control where blood and specific body fluids are considered infectious. While UP is included in the Bloodborne Pathogens standard, information technology'due south no longer used on its own.

Standard Precautions (SP)

Introduced in 1996, SP adds more than precautions to UP to protect workers from pathogens in non only blood and specific fluids, but also in OPIMs and other body fluids where Up doesn't employ. SP requirements include PPE use, safe injection practices, and safe contaminated equipment management.

Transmission-Based Precautions (TBP)

TBP adds on to SP with actress protections for managing contact, droplet, and airborne-transmissible diseases. The different TBP types used vary depending on what's known about a patient'due south infection.

OSHA's Requirements for Reducing Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Risks

OSHA's standards for reducing exposure risks include:

• Implementing a formal exposure command plan (ECP)
• Conducting annual employee training
• Using standard precautions (SP) during patient intendance
• Using personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Washing hands after patient intendance, removing PPE, or contacting OPIMs
• Using safer sharps and/or needleless devices
• Implementing controls like labeled containers for safely handling and disposing sharps
• Using crimson containers labeled every bit "infectious waste" with a biohazard symbol on them to dispose blood and OPIMs
• Ensuring all employees who are at gamble receive hepatitis B vaccinations
• Implementing a post-exposure evaluation plan to follow up on whatever employee exposures to blood and OPIMs

Stay Prepared With Employee Training

All exposure command plans demand to incorporate employee training both for worker prophylactic too as compliance with the Bloodborne Pathogens standard.

Data to cover during training includes:

• How to safely handle and dispose bloodborne pathogens
• The arrangement's exposure control plan
• Universal and standard precautions (UP/SP)
• Personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Run a risk advice practices
• The organization'south postal service-exposure follow-up plan

OSHA requires all employees receive almanac grooming on the Bloodborne Pathogens standard no matter if they've already washed it before or they're being trained for the first time.

Are Y'all In Line With OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard?

Medical Waste Pros partners with a nationwide network of medical waste disposal and compliance training providers to assistance ensure you're staying compliant with OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens standard.

For free quotes on sharps and infectious waste disposal services or compliance training services for the Bloodborne Pathogens standard, but fill out the form to your correct or give usa a call at (888) 755-6370 today.

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Source: https://www.medicalwastepros.com/2019/12/what-is-osha-bloodborne-pathogens-standard/