Sharps Disposal Containers and the Nurses Station

Sharps Disposal Containers and the Nurses Station

Q: Do sharps disposal containers have to be in each individual exam room or can we have them in the nurse's station, for private practice?

A: Being in private practice has no bearing on Bloodborne Pathogen standard compliance. You are subject to the same rules as healthcare centers, nursing care facilities, etc. The standard calls for sharps disposal containers to be "Easily accessible to personnel and located as close as is feasible to the immediate area where sharps are used or can be reasonably anticipated to be found." That means in the exam room. You probably could not justify a nurses' station as being in the immediate area.