SURGICAL/CRITICAL CARE and retrieved by another person, avoiding


such potentially danger contact. According to Nina Morales, Marketing


Associate at Viscot Medical, “More and more we have noticed facilities seeking solutions to enforce the hands-free passing technique. One of the most common causes of sharps injuries within the operating room is improper passing of sharps; an NIH study has proven that the hands-free technique can reduce these by half.”2


AORN notes that a quarter of all suture needle injuries and over a half of scalpel injuries happen when a sharp instrument is being passed from one person to another; these staggering numbers are impossible to ignore.3 Morales continued, “sharps safety should be easy, intuitive, and- when possible- sustainable. We understand that adapting newer technologies and protocols can be challenging even if there is evidence that supports the change. he idea is to find devices that don’t drastically alter what’s already being done within the O.R. if pos- sible. Reducing the amount of waste with a re-useable solution is a bonus.” One of Viscot’s latest products is known as the Soffzone Neutral Zone, which is designed in a manner wherein it effectively serves as an invaluable ‘safe spot’ within an OR setting.


According to Morales, the Soffzone “solves many of the concerns around adapt- ing a hands-free passing technique. The bright red color is something many clini- cians already associate with sharps safety, as many needle counters and other sharps disposable items are already red, plus it is a highly visible color in the sea of blue and silver that is the O.R. The high visibility combined with the low profile makes pass- ing sharps easy, and it enables an option for the clinicians to use their periphery vision, so they don’t need to take their eyes off the surgical site. We’ve also made our neutral zone autoclavable, so it’s re-useable and can be put right into every surgical kit.” The size of the Soffzone Neutral Zone make it ideal for a Mayo stand, a portable tray where surgical equipment and sup- plies are kept close to the patient being operated on.


Morales added that “the Soffzone is sized for the Mayo stand, creating a clear and obvious spot for the designated passing of sharps; the instruments in use are typically already on the MAYO, making the Soffzone a minimally invasive change to the current O.R. layout.”


Holding things together Air-Tite, a company with close to 100 years in developing syringes and needles, have


developed a product that is built to enhance and ensure the safekeeping of needles. Neil Garnache, President of Air-Tite, stated that, “the TSK Needle Holder helps prevent needle stick injuries by securing the hard-shell plastic capsules of cannulas and needles for safer loading and removal from the syringe. It also provides a tighter fit when fixing needles and cannula to the syringe. he weighted base and firm grip allows for a convenient, clean, and organized storage place for hypodermics during a treatment.”


Garnache commented on the recent surges in needle demand, with particular emphasis on the impact caused by the pandemic. “In general, we are seeing that the manufacturers of safety needles and syringes experienced very high demand, particularly during the early stages of inter- national vaccination efforts. Combined with recent international shipping/logis- tics challenges, this has led to inventory shortfalls and higher prices. In some cases, this has caused some practices to use conventional/non-safety devices when they would normally choose to use a safety device.


“It seems that the industry did not have sufficient stock or capacity of the appropri- ate safety devices (i.e. syringes with small volumes and low dead space features, safety needles with appropriate gauge and length and low dead space performance) to support a global immunization campaign. While some progress in product design and production capacity has taken place, additional gap assessment and correction may be needed.”


Advanced Medical Innovations spe- cifically focuses in sharps safety products, such as MedMate, which continue to set standards for excellence in safe sharps management and injury prevention. Mike Hoftman, President of Advanced


Medical Innovation (AMI), commented that “due to the increase of very sick individuals with COVID over the last two years in hospitals, there was an increase of administering medication from vials into puncture ports for IV administration, which resulted in a high need for our newly patented product, MedMate.


“The MedMate provides a safe means to


withdraw medication from a vial and inject it into a rubber port (IV line), without the need to use a standard hypodermic syringe and needle. In addition, it provides facili- ties with a cost saving opportunity, for, as opposed to using safety needles that need to be discarded after every injection, only one MedMate is required to complete a procedure.The MedMate is used for the


24 July 2022 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • hpnonline.com


complete procedure as many times as it is necessary.” Hoftman continued, “this is the main


issue: if a practitioner gets pricked with a sharps in healthcare facilities and the sharps is contaminated with the patient’s blood borne pathogen, there is a chance that the practitioner will get infected if the patient is infected. Therefore, it is critical for practitioners to use state of the art products and practice safety first. AMI sharps safety products also include


the Sharps Safety Station and Ultimate sharps Safety Station series of Needle Counter boxes, which include many safety features such as: Scalpel Blade remover single handed, Hypo syringe recapper exchanger with one hand, and parking places for the scalpel and syringe safely inside the boxes.


Keeping our focus sharp According to the CDC, 36% of blood and body fluid (F) eposures occur in Inpatient units, and 29% in the Operating room; the percentage of personnel exposed to Fs are nurses () and physicians (30%).


Furthermore, 0 of estimated needle- sticks and other sharps related injuries occur in the OR.


Those working in our hospitals and


healthcare facilities can never be careful enough, especially when it comes to the safe and effective management of sharps and needle sticks.


Sharp objects should always be removed from use when deemed necessary, and peri- operative personnel must use sharps with the required safety-engineered devices, in addition to utilizing safety scalpels, syringes, and needles.


Moreover, personnel must carefully abide by and execute work practice controls when using sharps, including neutral zones, no touch technology, and the safe containment and disposal of all items.


We must keep our focus sharp, for the best safety practices are always in our hands. HPN


References:


1. Sharps Safety for Healthcare Settings. https://www.cdc.gov/ sharpssafety/index.html Accessed on June 10, 2022.


2. Stringer, B., Haines, T., Goldsmith, C. H., Blythe, J., Berguer, R., Andersen, J., & De Gara, C. J. (2009). Hands-free technique in the operating room: reduction in body fluid exposure and the value of a training video. Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974), 124 Suppl 1(Suppl 1), 169–179. https://doi. org/10.1177/00333549091244S119


3. Sharps Safety in the OR. https://www.aorn.org/-/media/aorn/ guidelines/tool-kits/sharps-safety/sharps-safety-in-the-or-lets-walk- the-talk.pptx?la=en Accessed on June 10,2022.


4. The National Surveillance System for Healthcare Workers (NaSH). www.cdc.gov/nhsn/PDFs/NaSH/NaSH-Report-6-2011. pdf Accessed on June 10, 2022.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68