Requisite Safety Precautions Every Phlebotomists Should Take

One of the first things phlebotomists learn while practicing their trade is the fact that the sight of blood should not astonish one. Those in the inner circles of the health profession consider phlebotomists as modern-day vampires whose trade appertains with everything blood-related.

They ply their trade in doctors’ offices, in hospitals and clinics. Given the sensitive nature of blood, phlebotomists have to take necessary precautions in order to comply with the necessary codes of conduct.

Patient-centric Precautions

When it comes to the sanctity of blood in hospitals, phlebotomists the ones charged with the responsibility of ensuring that all necessary protocols are complied with in order to protect patients.

Normally, phlebotomists first check their records to ascertain if patients have certain health conditions that limit the body regions blood can be drawn from. The next step is ascertaining that the patient is currently not under a form of medication that can prevent blood from clotting.

Once a patient is in the clear, the phlebotomist then proceeds to cleanse and sterilize the equipment going to be used for the operation. Washing hands and the donning of gloves is another important step necessary to ensure that the best conditions possible are facilitated. Other precautions include steps taken to ensure that patients don’t actually bleed under the skin and then dressing up the patient’s wound. To get the low-down on the nature of the phlebotomy profession, check out Phlebotomy Schools.

Phlebotomist-centric Precautions

There are numerous diseases like HIV and hepatitis that are easily transmitted by a needlestick, thus, phlebotomists need to take sufficient precautions in order to protect themselves from contamination.

Importantly, thanks to the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act of 2001, safety needles nowadays come with built-in features to prevent accidental needle pricks from occurring. According to the College of American Pathologists, the precautions remain upheld as long as phlebotomists activate the safety devices.

Rules effected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommend that phlebotomists take on an active role in the testing of safety equipment and deciding on which products they have absolute faith when it comes to ease of operation.

Labeling

In the medical fraternity, labels are essential since they help in ensuring that patients receive the right kind of blood that can’t harm their medical state of being. In addition, labeling helps ensure that patients on medication are able to receive the right kind of treatment necessary. If labeling did not exist, a lot of patients’ blood would go to waste.

Disposal

While drawing of blood is the main issue for phlebotomists, the job is never complete until the disposal is complete. The final precautionary act involves the phlebotomist disposal of the blood safely.

Safe disposal involves throwing all the remnant medical waste from the phlebotomy procedure in a bin. Items like bandages, syringes, gauzes, bandages, tourniquets are probable biohazards that need a lot of caution when handling.

The disposal bin should be a puncture-resistant container. As a rule of thumb, the disposal bin should be emptied regularly in order to lower the probability of blood-borne diseases emerging from a needle stick.