1. Report the incident immediately to the Office Lead or senior physician in charge.
2. The physician in charge arranges for blood to be taken from the staff member as soon as possible.
3. If a known source individual is involved in the incident, blood should be taken from the source individual and tested for blood borne viruses. This should be done with the informed consent of the source individual, unless state or local laws allow for testing without consent. This should be collected and processed immediately after the incident.
4. The physician makes the results of these tests available to the exposed worker and informs the worker of the laws and regulations about disclosing the source’s identity and infectious status.
5. An injury/incident report must be completed, which includes:
•Date and time of the incident.
•How the incident occurred.
•The nature of exposure (for example, whether the affected person has been stabbed by a syringe or other sharp or been splashed in the eye).
•Name of the source individual (if known).
6. When a worker experiences an exposure incident, the physician must make an immediate confidential medical evaluation and follow-up available to the worker.
•This evaluation and follow-up must be made available at no cost to the worker and at a reasonable time and place, performed by or under the supervision of a licensed physician or other licensed health care professional, and provided according to the recommendations of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) current at the time the procedures take place.
•Laboratory tests must be conducted by an accredited laboratory and must be at no cost to the worker. A worker who participates in post-exposure evaluation and follow-up may consent to have his or her blood drawn for determination of a baseline infection status, but has the option to withhold consent for HIV testing at that time. In this instance, the employer must ensure that the worker's blood sample is preserved for at least 90 days in case the worker changes his or her mind about HIV testing.
•The physician must offer post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, HBV, and HCV, when medically indicated according to the current recommendations of the U.S. Public Health Service.
•The physician provides counseling for the worker about the possible implications of the exposure and his or her infection status, including the results and interpretation of all tests and how to protect personal contacts.
•The physician must evaluate reported illnesses that may be related to the exposure.
•The physician obtains and provides the worker with a copy of the evaluating health care professional’s written opinion within 15 days of completion of the evaluation. According to OSHA’s standard, the written opinion should only include: whether hepatitis B vaccination was recommended for the exposed worker, whether or not the worker received the vaccination, that the physician informed the worker of the results of the evaluation, and any medical conditions resulting from exposure to blood or PIM that require further evaluation or treatment. Any findings other than these are not to be included in the written report.
For more information, go to OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention Safety and Health Topics web page at: