Needlestick injuries costing $1 billion

January 12th, 2015

Needlestick injuries affect more than half a million health care personnel every year, taking an immeasurable emotional toll on millions of health care personnel, as well as adding millions in unnecessary costs, according to a Safe in Common (SIC) review of U.S. health care industry statistics.¹

As part of its ongoing work to raise awareness of advanced safety devices and work practices to prevent these types of injuries, SIC estimates that approximately 1000 percutaneous injuries occur per day in U.S. hospitals, accounting for $1 billion in additional costs, some of which include costs associated with laboratory testing for exposed employees.

"These completely preventable injuries, needless cost burdens on the health care system, and psychological trauma inflicted on personnel is startling when safer equipment and smarter work practices are available to personnel across the healthcare spectrum," said Safe in Common Chairperson Mary Foley, PhD, RN.

"The desperate need for attention to the risk of needlestick injuries and their dangerous implications for both patients and personnel are startling when you look directly at the impact to healthcare costs," Foley added. "Learning how to permanently prevent these types of injuries — with more education and the introduction of advanced safety devices — will ultimately reduce a significant cost burden and, most importantly, the pain and emotional trauma that the needlestick victims and their families are enduring." Reference 1. http://www.safeincommon.org/