Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
Revised February, 2013 <br />EC 10: Engineered Sharps & Needle-less Systems: <br />•Sharps with Engineered Sharps Injury Protections: <br />o Non-needle sharps or needle devices containing built-in safety features <br />that are used for collecting fluids or administering medications or other <br />fluids, or other procedures involving the risk of sharps injury will be used <br />where feasible. During our annual review, these devices will be discussed, <br />reviewed as to their effectiveness with our procedures, and used where <br />feasible. This covers a broad array of devices, including: <br />Syringes with a sliding sheath that shields the attached needle after <br />use; <br />Needles that retract into a syringe after use; <br />Shielded or retracting catheters <br />Intravenous medication (IV) delivery systems that use a catheter <br />port with a needle housed in a protective covering. <br />(Safety equipment must be available at all times. If for some reason an engineering <br />control is not available due to supply shortages, back orders, shipping delays, etc.), this <br />must be documented in your Exposure Control Plan. You would then be responsible to <br />implement the chosen control(s) as soon as it becomes available and adjust your <br />exposure control plan to illustrate such. In the meantime, work practice controls must be <br />used and, if occupational exposure still remains, personal protective equipment must <br />also be used.) <br />•Needleless Systems <br />o Needleless Systems is defined as devices, which provide an alternative to <br />needles for various procedures to reduce the risk of injury involving <br />contaminated sharps. During our annual review, these devices will be <br />discussed, reviewed as to their effectiveness with our procedures, and <br />used where feasible. Types of needle-less systems include: <br />IV medication systems which administer medication or fluids <br />through a catheter port using non-needle connections; and <br />Jet injection systems, which deliver liquid medication beneath the <br />skin or through a muscle. <br />(A key element in choosing a safer medical device, other than its appropriateness to the <br />procedure and effectiveness, is its availability on the market. If there is no safer option <br />for a particular medical device used where there is exposure to blood or OPIM, you are <br />not required to use something other than the device that is normally used. ) <br />Orange County Emergency Services <br />Exposure Control Policy <br />Standard Operating Procedures <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: 79C5D167-B6CA-4E59-B4AC-AA38CC1B20BD