agrees to the location during the pre-op time out.
"It's acceptable that they designate an area for passing as long as
they use it consistently," says Ms. Kratochvil. "We've advised staff to
place the neutral zone in as convenient a location as possible, while
still maintaining safety for everybody involved in the procedure."
3. Dive into the data
Create a sharps safety team to analyze reports of sharps-related inci-
dents and create a data-driven educational program to help decrease
the number of injuries. Look at trends such as sharps injuries per
department and clinical role, then plan various interventions based on
the data.
Send quarterly injury reports to surgical leadership. The reports
should note if injuries were related to product design, device failure,
2 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9
TAKE A HANDS-OFF APPROACH TO SHARPS SAFETY
SANDEL
®
SHARPS SAFETY PRODUCTS HELP MEET AORN GUIDELINES
According to one study, 75% of sharps injuries in the O.R. occur during the passing or use of sharps.¹
Sharps safety products from Ansell allow you to pass sharps using hands-free techniques. And that lets
you focus on the procedure at hand.
Safety Scalpels
Change-A-Blade™
Safety Scalpel Handle
Z-Friction Drape™
Neutral Zone
SharpsRink™
Neutral Zone
Z-Tray™ and Stretch-A-Tray™
Hands-Free Transfer Trays
For more information or to receive a sample, visit www.ansell.com/sharpssafety or call 866-764-3327
1. Jagger J, Berguer R, Phillips EK, Parker G, Gomaa AE. Increase in sharps injuries in surgical settings versus nonsurgical settings after passage of national needlestick legislation. J Am Coll Surg. 2010;210(4):496-502.
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