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Implementation of a secure electronic form for bloodborne pathogen exposure reporting associated with increased
Erin Bammann1, Himgauri Nikrad2, Deborah Aragon2
1Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO.
Background:
Bloodborne pathogen exposures (BBPEs) are an ongoing health hazard among health care employees and are often underreported. Prior studies have revealed that BBPEs may be underreported due to challenges related to the reporting process.
Methods:
This quasi-experimental study was completed using data from the Denver Health and Hospital Authority. BBPE reporting was compared before and after the implementation of a self-reported secure electronic form (SELF) reporting system. The primary outcome was the number of monthly BBPE reports. The secondary outcomes were nurse triage line call volume and proportion of cases referred for urgent evaluation.
Results:
The mean number of monthly BBPE reports increased by 9.5 (P = .001, 95% CI 6.23, 12.54), the mean number of monthly nurse triage line calls decreased from 7 to 23 (P < .001, 95% CI 14.39, 19.22), and referral for urgent evaluation decreased by 61.8% (P < .001, df = 1) between the preintervention and postintervention periods.
Conclusions:
Implementing a SELF may help capture a greater number of BBPE reports in large health care systems compared with a nurse triage system alone. Additionally, SELFs allow for the acquisition of additional descriptive information about BBPEs and may help reduce unnecessary emergency department utilization.
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