Policy Manual sample

MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. V. Needles and Syringes A. Storage: cool, dry place secure from children and pets B. Handling: Check for expiration date, signs of damage or contamination. Instruct the patient/care giver in proper use. Obtain return demonstration of patient / care giver’s competence in use before allowing total independence in this activity. C. Disposal: place in puncture - resistance sharps container to be disposed of by the licensed biomedical waste company contracted for services. Electrical safety of the equipments, the requirements for the electrical safety of medical equipment are much more stringent than those for other electrical devices. Objective: Prevent harm to patients and staff What type of current, voltages and frequencies produce harm or death to patients? D.C. or high frequency A.C. currents that pass through the body produce heat. Sometimes heat is a desired effect produced by medical instrumentation. Electrical Surgical units produce these effects to cut tissue and coagulate body fluids. Ultrasonic physical therapy equipment uses high frequency to heal damaged muscles. Low frequency A.C. signals inadvertently applied to human tissue can cause a tingling sensation, muscle spasms or even death. Sensitivity is frequency dependant and is high at 60 Hz, normal U.S. power line frequency. Patient safety is primarily concerned with eliminating or reducing low frequency a.c. signals entering the patient’s body. Resistance in the body varies greatly upon many conditions: Dry, healthy skin has a resistance of 60k to 100k ohms. As resistance decreases, smaller and smaller voltages can result in higher and higher currents and thus can harm the patient. Diminished resistance because of illness or wound. Many solutions used in medical treatment reduce this resistance. When solutions pool at or near a puncture or wound in the skin, the resistance drops significantly. Many medical procedures reduce the skin’s resistance. What steps do we take to reduce potential harmful currents produced by or traveling through medical instrumentation? Maintain a good ground. Good ground circuit prevents harmful currents flowing into patients and staff. Circuit separation is used as one of the means to implement electrical safety in medical electrical equipment. Use of cleaning and disinfecting agents (must be done as manufacturer’s recommendations) Appropriate cleaning and/or disinfection of care equipment, supplies and surfaces or equipment/devices that have been in the healthcare environment; is a very important Infection Control measure. The goals of safe reprocessing of medical equipment/devices include: • Preventing transmission of microorganisms to personnel and clients/patients/residents; • Minimizing damage to medical equipment/devices from foreign material (e.g. blood, body fluids, saline and medications) or inappropriate handling. Procedure: Products used for any/all stages in reprocessing (i.e. cleaning, disinfection, sterilization) must be approved by the Agency Infection Control committee, by an individual with reprocessing L-25 Home Health Agency Client Assessments