You're doing your job, following procedures. Your life completely changes. An estimated 800,000 U.S. health care workers receive medical sharps injuries each year, according to the National Alliance for the Primary Prevention of Sharps Injuries. The American Nurses Association puts the number of injuries at closer to 1 million. ANA estimates 16,000 of those sticks involve HIV-infected blood and 12,000 expose a worker to hepatitis, from which at least 1,000 serious infections result.
Employers enter the needlestick nightmare world, too.
Treatment costs of the serious, life-threatening illnesses that can result from the needlestick go much higher. Then, there are legal liability costs and increases in workers' compensation insurance. The national alliance has launched a nationwide effort to increase primary prevention of medical sharps injuries. Non-needle options include use of lasers instead of lancets to draw blood to check glucose levels in diabetics, and catheter securement devices in place of sutures. Stoker says eliminating the needle completely eliminates the risk.