Glucometer materials - labeling issues
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We are having issues with maintaining compliance with labeling glucometer QC vials and test strips for the Nova StatStrip. I evaluate this with monthly checks to ensure compliance is maintained and several units are having recurring issues with this. These vials have a fairly slick surface and on numerous occasions ink is smudged or rubbed off of the vials when dates are written on them. Joint Commission is our accrediting agency for this aspect and I want to make sure we maintain compliance with labeling these vials. I have tried to find an answer on whether or not a piece of tape could be placed on the labels after writing on them (this was a question I was asked by a nursing unit). I was unsure if this would violate an infection prevention standard by having a piece of tape on the QC vials or test strip vials. Another question arose about placing separate labels with dates written on them on the vials. Does anyone know if this would go against JC standards? Are there any suggestions to help with our labeling issues?
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We use small white labels that are meant to be affixed onto the strip bottle and QC bottles. It has a space for initials, open on date, and expiration date. We leave them in the supply baskets on all the units and educate the RNs and PCTs at orientation and annually that they are to use these when they are the person opening new supplies.
We also perform monthly floor checks to monitor compliance, and even with the stickers that are available for them to use, we find certain units are none compliant and we confiscate unlabeled items. I email the unit managers monthly with the data and I'm currently working on an action plan with a unit that continues to be non-compliant. I'm hoping they can assign a particular shift or person to monitor this daily.
Let me know if you have anything better!! It's a work in progress!
Kate
Our Infection Control Dept preferred we not use tape, but we could use labels. All the units have medication expiration labels, so we decided to use those on the QC vials.
It is something the floors are use to using, and the date stays written on the label well.
Audits have been much better (though there are some struggles with what the actual dates should be).
Hope this helps.
A short-term project involving self-reporting of date checks weekly yielded some improvement in dates written on vials, but the project was scrapped citing 'form fatigue' by nursing.