GAO faults Veterans Affairs for not promoting safer 'sharps' devices. General Accounting Office. Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 6003, Rockville, MD 20849-6003. 800-458-5231 ext. 5023.

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

GAO faults Veterans Affairs for not promoting safer 'sharps' devices. General Accounting Office. Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 6003, Rockville, MD 20849-6003. 800-458-5231 ext. 5023.

AIDS Policy Law. 1995 Feb 10;10(2):7. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE AIDS/95700167

Abstract: The General Accounting Office (GAO), in a Congressional study, found that Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals have a long way to go in preventing HIV infection through needlestick injuries. Although the number of punctures and cuts from needles, scalpels and other devices is reported to be declining, the GAO faults the VA for failing to promote new, safer devices to curb the risk of accidental infection. The study was requested by U.S. Republican Ron Wyden, D-Ore, who was concerned about the extent of injuries from sharps in health care facilities and the extent to which facilities were using new, safer devices to reduce the risk of injury.

Keywords: Government Hospitals, Veterans/*STANDARDS Human HIV Infections/*PREVENTION & CONTROL/TRANSMISSION Needles *Needlestick Injuries Personnel, Hospital Philadelphia Safety Management/*METHODS San Francisco Surgical Instruments United States United States Department of Veterans Affairs/*STANDARDS West Virginia NEWSLETTER ARTICLE
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