MCN Healthcare: Policy Management and Compliance Tools

A recent issue of The Joint Commission's Home Care Bulletin highlights the observations of TJC home care surveyors; apparently surveyors are seeing some home care organizations reuse fingerstick lancing devices on multiple patients.  In the Bulletin, TJC cites CDC recommendations and stresses that fingerstick lancing devices should only be used on one patient for self-monitoring of blood glucose levels. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention an underappreciated risk of blood glucose testing is the opportunity for exposure to bloodborne viruses (HBV, hepatitis C virus, and HIV) through contaminated equipment and supplies if devices used for testing and/or insulin administration (e.g., blood glucose meters, fingerstick devices, insulin pens) are shared.  Outbreaks of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection associated with blood glucose monitoring have been identified with increasing regularity, particularly in long-term care settings, such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities, where residents often require assistance with monitoring of blood glucose levels and/or insulin administration. In the last 10 years, alone, there have been at least 15 outbreaks of HBV infection associated with providers failing to follow basic principles of infection control when assisting with blood glucose monitoring.

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