Needlestick Injuries Are Still Happening But Are Preventable
The statistics are alarming: approximately 385,000 needlestick injuries¹ (NSI) occur annually in the United States alone—that’s about 1,050 injuries every day. Despite advances in medical technology and safety protocols, healthcare professionals continue to face major health risks from these preventable injuries.
Nurses are particularly vulnerable. A study showed that nurses account for over 52% of reported needlestick injuries, followed by cleaning staff (22.3%), physicians (18.5%), and technicians (6.9%). These injuries most frequently occur in high-pressure environments such as operating rooms (21.9%), inpatient care settings (17.6%), and emergency rooms (16.7%).²
44.5% of healthcare workers experience NSIs annually⁸
1,050 injuries every day
385,000+ injuries/year in the US
The Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act: Progress and Limitations
In November 2000, the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act was signed into law, requiring OSHA to revise its Bloodborne Pathogens Standard. This landmark legislation mandated:
The use of safer engineered devices and needleless systems
Annual review of exposure control plans and consideration of new safety technologies
Input from frontline healthcare workers on device selection
Maintenance of a sharps injury log³
Despite some early successes, the problem persists. While it was believed that sharps injuries would be virtually eliminated within five years of the bill’s passage, current data shows injuries trending only slightly lower than in 2001, with approximately 2.4 injuries occurring per 100 full-time equivalent staff.⁴
Why Needlestick Injuries Continue to Occur
Activation Issues
Many safety-engineered devices require extra steps that often bring clinicians’ fingers close to the needle⁵ and/or results in exposure to the contaminated sharp
Design Flaws
Some "safety" devices are difficult to use, or poorly designed, leading to improper use or non-use and continued risk of injury⁵
Disposal Risks
Safety devices with shields or sheaths may not keep contaminated sharps securely enclosed throughout disposal and can lead to downstream injuries, putting cleaning staff and others at risk
Underreporting
Nearly half of all needlestick injuries go unreported⁶, limiting opportunities for prevention and improvement in safety practices
Real Safety in Healthcare Starts Here
The evidence is clear: despite regulatory efforts, needlestick injuries remain a serious threat to healthcare workers. But you don’t have to accept this risk as an inevitable part of healthcare delivery.
We’ve prepared a customizable email you can send directly to your facility’s administration to make it easier for you to advocate for safer devices. Use it to highlight your concerns and recommend truly effective safety products as a safer, smarter solution.
Dear [Hiring Manager's Name],
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to express my strong interest in the [Job Title] position at [Company Name], a
Dear [Healthcare Facility Administration],
I'm writing about our sharps safety protocols as someone directly affected by these devices daily.
As you are aware, the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act requires healthcare facilities to implement the best available safety measures to reduce exposure to bloodborne pathogens and to solicit input from non-managerial staff about safer devices.
In my research, I've found that the VanishPoint syringe offers superior protection against needlestick injuries compared to our current devices. It features technology that automatically retracts the needle directly from the patient into the barrel of the syringe when the plunger is fully depressed. This essentially eliminates exposure to contaminated needles, significantly reducing the risk of needlestick injuries.
Beyond the obvious safety benefits, the VanishPoint syringe also offers cost advantages:
- The syringes feature low dead space design, which maximizes medication use and can allow for additional doses from multi-dose vials.
- They require less disposal space than other safety needles/syringes, reducing waste management costs.
- Prevention of disposal-related injuries and their associated costs
- The needle is attached, preventing unnecessary needle changes and associated costs.
While budget considerations matter, the long-term savings from reduced injuries and waste, combined with our legal obligation to provide the safest equipment, make this a worthwhile investment in both staff safety and facility economics.
I would appreciate discussing why we haven't adopted this safer technology and believe this change would demonstrate our commitment to worker safety and regulatory compliance.
Thank you for your consideration of this important safety matter.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Position]
[Your Department]
s advertised on your website. With my background in [Relevant Skill/Experience] and a passion for [Company's Mission or Industry], I believe I am a strong fit for your team.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Contact Information]
References
- Sharps Safety Program resources. (2024, April 3). Infection Control. https://www.cdc.gov/infection-control/hcp/sharps-safety/index.html
- Mohamud, R. Y. H., Mohamed, N. A., Doğan, A., Hilowle, F. M., Isse, S. A., Hassan, M. Y., & Hilowle, I. A. (2023). Needlestick and Sharps Injuries Among Healthcare Workers at a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Retrospective Single-Center Study. Risk management and healthcare policy, 16, 2281–2289. https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S434315
- Preventing needlesticks and sharps injuries: Reflecting on the 20th anniversary of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act | Blogs | CDC. (2024, November 25). https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2020/12/11/sharps-injuries/
- usefulgroup. (2025, April 11). The cost of a needlestick injury. Daniels Health. https://www.danielshealth.com/knowledge-center/cost-needlestick-injury
- Chambers, A., Mustard, C. A., Holness, D. L., Nichol, K., & Breslin, F. C. (2015). Barriers to the Adoption of Safety-Engineered Needles Following a Regulatory Standard: Lessons Learned from Three Acute Care Hospitals. Healthcare policy = Politiques de sante, 11(1), 90–101.
- Yun, J., Umemoto, K., Wang, W., & Vyas, D. (2023). National Survey of Sharps Injuries Incidence Amongst Healthcare Workers in the United States. International journal of general medicine, 16, 1193–1204. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S404418
- Goris S, et al. Reducing Needlestick Injuries from Active Safety Devices: A Passive Safety-Engineered Device Trial. Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare. Spring 2014.
https://d2ghdaxqb194v2.cloudfront.net/577/165816.pdf - Bouya, S., Balouchi, A., Rafiemanesh, H., Amirshahi, M., Dastres, M., Moghadam, M. P., Behnamfar, N., Shyeback, M., Badakhsh, M., Allahyari, J., Al Mawali, A., Ebadi, A., Dezhkam, A., & Daley, K. A. (2020). Global Prevalence and Device Related Causes of Needle Stick Injuries among Health Care Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Annals of global health, 86(1), 35. https://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.2698