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The Federal Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act strengthens and enacts as law the Revised OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Directive issued November 1999. The purpose of the 1999 revision was to include needlestick prevention as part of an OSHA compliance officer review. Passing federal legislation makes this standard law and includes several additions to the revised standard (29 CFR 1910.1030).
- Engineering Controls — Definition shall be expanded to include the following examples of control including safer medical devices, such as sharps with engineered sharps injury protections and needleless systems
- Sharps with Engineered Sharps Injury Protection — A non-needle sharp or a needle device used for withdrawing body fluids, accessing a vein or artery, or administering medications or other fluids, with a built-in safety feature or mechanism that effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident
- Needleless Systems — A device that does not use needles for the collection of bodily fluids, administration of medication or fluids, or any other procedure involving the potential for occupational exposure due to percutaneous injuries from contaminated sharps
In addition to the existing requirements for the development of an Exposure Control Plan, the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act requires the following:
- Reflect changes in technology that eliminate or reduce exposure to bloodborne pathogens
- Document consideration and implementation of appropriate commercially available and effective safer medical devices
- An employer shall solicit input from nonmanagerial employees responsible for direct patient care who are potentially exposed to injuries from contaminated sharps in the identification, evaluation and selection of effective engineering and work practice controls, and shall document the solicitation in the Exposure Control Plan.
The Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act also requires the employer to establish and maintain a sharps injury log to record all percutaneous injuries from contaminated sharps. The log should include the following information at a minimum:
- Type and brand of device involved
- Department where injury occurred
- Explanation of how incident occurred
| September 2000 |
Bill introduced in Congress |
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| November 2000 |
Bill signed into law as the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act |
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| January 2001 |
OSHA published the revised Bloodborne Pathogens Directive to incorporate the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act |
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| April 2001 |
OSHA implemented a 90 day educational outreach program to educate healthcare workers on the requirements of the revised OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard |
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| July 18, 2001 |
All healthcare facilities covered under Federal OSHA must be compliant with the revised Bloodborne Pathogens Directive |
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| October 18, 2001 |
States with their own State OSHA plans, not directly covered under Federal OSHA, must have enforceable state legislation passed, or must have incorporated the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act into their own State OSHA plans |
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Federal OSHA encourages individual states to establish and operate their own job safety and health programs. Each state that operates its own plan must include regulations that are at least as comprehensive as Federal OSHA.
Alaska
Arizona
California *
Connecticut *
Hawaii
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
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Maryland *
Michigan
Minnesota *
Nevada
New Mexico
New York *
North Carolina
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Oregon
South Carolina
Tennessee *
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Wyoming
Puerto Rico
Virgin Islands
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* Have existing state needlestick legislation
View the actual law. |
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