What exactly is the 1999 California-OSHA regulation regarding disposable needles?
California now requires the use of devices with engineered sharps injury protection (ESIP). The safety device must have built-in injury protection. Safety needles are not required if the employer-practitioner can show objective information that demonstrates the needles are not safer than the devices and practices currently in use in the practice, the devices are not available in the marketplace, or the devices interfere with the delivery of patient care. Employers must evaluate available devices if no reasonably specific and reliable information is available regarding the clinical use of the devices.(1) Evaluation forms and instructions for their use are available online at the CDC Oral Health website (2). References: (1) California Department of Industrial relations. CCR Title 8, Section 5193. Bloodborne Pathogens. Available at http://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/5193.html (2) http://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/infectioncontrol/forms.
