Page 102 - 2020 ARE eGuide for Clinical at Nonhospital Sites

OSHA's Blood-Borne Pathogen Standard

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires healthcare institutions
to have an Exposure Control Plan (ECP) to prevent transmission of blood-borne
pathogens such as Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), and
Hepatitis C Virus (HCV).
All employees and contract workers with
direct patient contact are required to review
it annually. Ask Supervisor for the location
of your ECP.
As of 2017 the number of healthcare
workers who acquire Hepatitis B
occupationally continues to decline with
increased use of the Hepatitis B vaccine.
Unvaccinated individuals who are exposed
to infected blood have a 6-30% risk of
becoming infected. Timely appropriate post
exposure follow-up can greatly reduce the
risk in the unvaccinated.

All employees identified to be at risk of an occupational exposure are offered and
encouraged to take the Hepatitis B vaccine.

Since the early 1980's a total of 208 (58 fully documented and 150 possible) U.S.
healthcare workers have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) as acquiring HIV through an occupational exposure. No confirmed
case has been reported since 2002.

A specific occupational exposure (defined by OSHA as an exposure incident) occurs
when an individual has parenteral (needle-stick, cut with scalpel, etc.) or specific eye,
mouth, nose (inside), or non-intact skin contact with blood or other potentially
infectious materials.