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MISC

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Health Science

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Feb 20, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by fernando.almaguer

Dr. Almaguer Phlebotomy Course: Government Agencies Joint Commission, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) The importance of providing operational standards for the clinical laboratory and phlebotomy practice has ensured that laboratory practices are carried out in a responsible and accountable manner for the general public. There are different agencies that certify and provide development standards to assist the delivery laboratory practices with an integral part of the health system. The Joint Commission The Joint Commission is a non-profit and nongovernmental institution that develops standards for improving quality and patient safety in the health care, including laboratory practices . As described on its website, “we help organizations across the continuum of care lead the way to zero harm” (The Joint Commission, 2019). This independent agency certifies and accredits hospitals and develops programs to assist facilities maintain good operational standards. According to The Joint Commission (2020), the 2020 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG’s) Safety Goals for Laboratory Services Effective January 1, 2020 states that the purpose of NPSG’s is to improve patient safety. The goal focuses on problems in health care safety and how to solve them. For example, there are three goals: 1. Identify patients correctly: use at least two ways to identify patients. For example, use the patient’s name and date of birth . This is done to ensure that each patient receives the correct medication and treatment. 2. Improve staff communication: delivery important test results on time to the right staff person. 3. Prevent infection: use the hand cleaning guidelines of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The CDC is a United States agency that protects citizens by increasing health security against threats to health and safety. According to CDC (2019), they conduct critical science and provide health information that protects the nation against health threats and responds when they arise. That is, CDC identifies any threat or diseases and work harder to find a solution to solve it . In the laboratory area, the CDC develops guidelines and provides recommendations for standard precautions to avoid any exposure to body fluids. Some of the guidelines and recommendations from the CDC can be seen in the following writing:  Anticipate injury risks and prepare the patient and work area with prevention in mind. Use a sharps device with safety features whenever it is available.(obtained directly form the CDC website: Sharps Safety for Healthcare Settings https://www.cdc.gov/sharpssafety/tools.html )  The use of gloves when in contact with any body fluid.  Wash hands with soap and water before and after phlebotomy or contact with the patient.  Wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)  Act immediately after a needle stick, such as first washing the area with soap and water, notify supervisor immediately, seek medical assistance and follow medical advice promptly. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) CLSI also assists prevent any injuries during phlebotomy practice. This agency provides guidelines and work in collaboration with the health industry and professionals to provide the most up-to-date information in the health framework. One of the most common guidelines in the laboratory area is the use of “order of draw” in which it is recommend to first collect blood cultures tubes or vials. Moreover, it mandates that needles or lancets be

Dr. Almaguer Phlebotomy Course: Government Agencies used once. Therefore, CLSI develops global standards through a Consensus Process that can be adopted by the health industry, clinicians, or regulatory agencies (CLSI, 2019). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) HIPAA was passed by Congress in 1996 as a need to provide patients with the right to privacy on their personal information. The patient has the right of protected health information (PHI) and should not be disclosed to unauthorized third parties in the electronic, verbal or written sense. It is a federal law that must be complied with at all levels of the health hierarchy. According to Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) (2019): HIPAA does the following:  Provides the ability to transfer and continue health insurance coverage for millions of American workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs;  Reduces health care fraud and abuse;  Mandates industry-wide standards for health care information on electronic billing and other processes; and  Requires the protection and confidential handling of protected health information 2 Infection Control Infection control is a gigantic topic in any medical profession. Professional exams in the medial area cover an important section to assess professional health knowledge about infection control. There are multiple reasons to enumerate the importance of infection control, but the most common are to reduce mortality of inpatient clients and the aim to reduced nosocomial infection costs. Therefore, infection control is the practice to prevent nosocomial infection or healthcare associated infection (HAI) that can be easily transmission form health care personnel to clients in the medical seating. One of the easy ways to prevent infection spread is to perform an adequately hand washing technique. Infection results when a microorganism is able to multiply (reproduce) in the body and attack the human body by causing a disease or injury. As defined by the World Health Organization, “infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganism, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi; the diseases can be spread, directly or indirectly, for one person to another”. Moreover, infections can be fatal for immunocompromised or vulnerable population, such as people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), during pregnancy, neonates, geriatric population, people who receive chemotherapy or some suppressive medications that cause the immune system to become weak. That is why, health professionals are obliged to protect clients for any pathogenic environment. Pathogens are easily transmitted from one patient to another if the phlebotomist does not wash his hands between patients.

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