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How do you manage non-employee (e.g., student, agency/contract employee, or Licensed Independent Provider) BBPEs that occur in your health care facilities? 

Currently, we have our non-employee exposures seen in the ED.  Non-employees are responsible for knowing their school/agency’s policy & procedure for BBPEs while working in one of our health care facilities.  We have provided education to our own staff about how non-employee exposures are to be handled, but almost always there is some issue with the process.  More often than not the ED runs them through as an employee, uses the employee lab slips (this prevents them from having access to the results as they go into our private database in EPIC) and we are billed, we often are tracking down the individual to ensure they have contacted their agency, determine if they received their test results, etc.

We have written a separate policy for the management of non-employee exposures, and plan to make separate non-employee post-exposure packets, however;  I’m not certain that this is going to improve the process (even with education). It could make it more confusing. 

To ensure all employee exposures are evaluated adequately and seen in a timely manner, I am considering recommending that we manage all the BBPEs the same within our organization. 

• All BBPEs would be seen in Employee Health during our work hours (go to the ED after hours/weekends and notify Nursing Supervisor to assist with Source Pt testing),
• Employee Health will follow up to ensure their testing is completed, and ensure appropriate counseling and investigation of their exposures occurred.
• Employee Health would cover the cost of their evaluation and testing if seen in the ED.
• Employee Health will ensure that their agency is notified to ensure any follow up testing or treatment and this would be arranged by their agencies.

Please share how you are handling these exposures and what process is working well for you.

Debbra L. Tatum, RN BSN  |  Employee Health Nurse

GOOD SAMARITAN REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

3600 NW Samaritan Drive | Corvallis, OR 97330

P 541-768-5279 | F 541-768-5424

dtatum@samhealth.org

THINK SAFE   WORK SAFE    ALWAYS

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