When your patient knows best practices..

BETTER THAN YOU!!! I’m talking about best practices related to syringes, needles and injection safety, that nurses and other healthcare providers should know and follow. Even with the CDC’s initiative “One and Only Campaign”, unsafe injection practices prevails in the US!!! What a shame!

If you are reading this and you have no idea what One and Only Campaign is – educate yourselves and click on these links:

http://www.oneandonlycampaign.org/content/cdc-guidelines

http://www.oneandonlycampaign.org/safe_injection_practices

A recent article in the US News Health section “ Unsafe Injections Put Patients in Peril: Insist on best practices before you’re stuck” describes the outbreak of Hepatitis C in outpatient clinics and what happened to the personnel involved. Yes, they got jail time or life sentence for second degree murder!! The outbreaks began in 2007 and still in 2015, poor practice continues.

Now patient advocates are encouraging patients to talk openly with health care providers about injection safety. The CDC recommends patients ask health care providers the following questions before receiving an injection:

• Will a new needle, new syringe and a new vial be used for this procedure or injection?

• Can you tell me how you prevent the spread of infections in your facility?

• What steps are you taking to keep me safe?

A discussion for informational purposes with our patients is always good. But seriously??? Why can’t this poor practice be stopped? Do we really need our patients to remind us of safe injection practices? Shouldn’t we know better and follow the safe injection practices instead of doing so only because the patient reminded us?

Goodness….what would Florence Nightingale say about this?