◊ What is EPINet?
The Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet™*) was developed
by Janine Jagger, M.P.H., Ph.D., and colleagues in 1991 to provide
standardized methods for recording and tracking percutaneous injuries
and blood and body fluid contacts. The EPINet system consists of a Needlestick and Sharp Object Injury Report
and a Blood and Body Fluid Exposure
Report, and software programmed in Access®* for entering and
analyzing the data from the forms. (A post-exposure follow-up form is also
available.) Since its introduction in 1992, more than 1,500 hospitals
in the U.S. have acquired EPINet for use;
it has also been adopted in other countries, including Canada,
Italy, Spain, Japan and U.K.
The Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act of 2000 and the 2001 revised
Bloodborne Pathogens Standard require health care facilities to
maintain a sharps injury log. The log must include, at a minimum, the
type and brand of device involved in the exposure incident, the
department where the exposure occurred, and an explanation of how it
occurred. EPINet™ for Access® meets all these requirements. It also
provides a wealth of other detail that can help facilities target
high-risk devices and products and evaluate the efficacy of new
technology designed to prevent needlesticks.
◊ What can you do with
EPINet?
- Identify injuries that may be prevented with safer medical
devices.
- Share and compare information and successful prevention measures
with other institutions.
- Evaluate the efficacy of new devices designed to prevent
injuries.
- Target high-risk devices and procedures for intervention.
- Analyze injury frequencies by attributes like jobs, devices, and
procedures.
- Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual exposure reports.
◊ How can you order
EPINet?
- The EPINet™ for Access® software program* is available free of
charge by contacting Ginger Parker, EPINet coordinator for the
International Health Care Worker Safety Center, at
gingerparker@virginia.edu, or calling (434) 982-0702. The program can
be sent as an e-mail attachment.
- Access/EPINet-OR is a version of EPINet designed specifically for
the surgical setting. It is suitable for both inpatient and outpatient
surgical settings as well as labor and delivery suites. To obtain a
copy of the program, e-mail Ginger Parker at gingerparker@virginia.edu.
- The EPINet report forms can be downloaded from this site by
clicking here.
- The user manual for EPINet™ for Access® can be downloaded from this
site by clicking on "EPINet Manual," above.
◊ Technical support for
EPINet
The Center offers free technical support for EPINet users. Contact
Ginger Parker at gingerparker@virginia.edu or call (434) 982-0702.
◊ About the EPINet Sharps
Injury and Blood And Body Fluid Exposure Surveillance Research
Group
In 1992, Janine Jagger organized a voluntary data-sharing network of
healthcare facilities using EPINet--the "EPINet Rsearch Group."
Participating healthcare facilities from across the U.S. annually send
data to the Center which are merged into an aggregate database.
With 15 years of data from a cumulative total of 84 hospitals, it
is the longest-standing database of healthcare workers' at-risk
exposures to blood and body fluids in the U.S.; it is the
foundation of the Center's research, and provides important
support for new policies to improve healthcare worker safety. Data
from the EPINet Research Group may be accessed here. A list of healthcare
facilities that have contributed data to the research group is here.
*The EPINetTM for Access® program is copyrighted and may not
be altered without permission of the International Health Care Worker
Safety Center. EPINet is a trademark of the University of Virginia.
Access is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation in the
United States and/or other countries. |
