NIOSH unveils new system for tracking sharps injuries
U.S. healthcare facilities are getting some help in tracking sharps incidents and blood and body fluid exposures among their workers – in the form of a new system developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
The free and voluntary system, Occupational Health Safety Network (OHSN), uses two modules to collect existing injury data (e.g., date of injury or illness, location of incident, description of illness, days away from work, and other data collected in OSHA logs) among healthcare personnel to (1) help identify job titles at highest risk for injury in their own facility, (2) develop interventions for the safety and health of hospital staff, and (3) objectively measure impact over time.