Qlicksmart Pty Ltd., manufacturer of scalpel blade removal systems released this Press Notice on July 3rd. The offering of the Digital Platform is a free piece of software to analyize cost savings in the Operating Room. Keeping safe remains a the primary focus.

Plan to The 5 Step Improve Sharps Safety

This is an excellent resource for establishing a Sharps Safety Culture that can be followed by all in the O.R..

1. Support Awareness

• Research into sharps safety concerns
• Public and employee awareness campaigns

2. Enforce Regulations

• Legislative Regulations
• Standards and industry guidelines

3. Safety Equipment

• Passive (automatic) safety-engineered devices
• Eg. retractable safety syringe, single-handed scalpel

blade remover

4. Administrative Actions

• Regular training on sharps compliance and equipment
• A reporting system for incidents
• Committee to review sharps procedures
• Safety scorecard to assess the efficacy of the program

5. Management Support

• Allocating financial resources
• Creative a supportive environment
• Use positive language around improved practices

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Minister Andrews joins Australian medical device manufacturer to launch Digital Platform for frontline healthcare worker safety
3 July 2020, Australia – Qlicksmart Pty Ltd officially launched their new Digital Platform today, which empowers healthcare facilities to reduce sharps injuries occurring to frontline staff.

The Qlicksmart Digital Platform is free to healthcare facilities, providing tools which cover evaluating sharps safety devices, an Interactive Training App for virtual product training, and how to effectively implement sharps safety policies into practice.

Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews spoke at the launch event, which was held at the Cohort Innovation Space in the Gold Coast.
“We do know, particularly coming through COVID, that training has been quite limited. It’s almost every day that I have people say to me that they were unable to complete their training because they couldn’t get the people in the room to deliver the training. So the opportunity to digitally provide the training to people, quite frankly, is the way of the future.”

“I’m very proud of the work that you [Qlicksmart] have done dealing with sharps injuries in the workplace, keeping our healthcare workers safe, but also doing very leading-edge work in how you’re going to train – particularly in areas where people have said that you can’t do that digitally. You’ve proven that that’s wrong.”

Dr Michael Sinnott, co-founder of Qlicksmart and an emergency physician, shared the potential impact the Qlicksmart Digital Platform will have on Australian Medtech innovation.

“I believe the Qlicksmart Digital Platform will revolutionize the current route to international markets by making the current global playing field a bit more even. This will mean that small Australian innovators and medical device companies will achieve greater success on the world stage.”

The Qlicksmart Digital Platform was developed in-house with support from the Innovations Connections Grant facilitated by the Ministry for Industry, Science and Technology and Monash University’s Design Health Collab.

Healthcare facilities can download the Interactive Training App from Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store. The Qlicksmart Digital Platform is accessible online at https://www.qlicksmart.com/digital-platform/‍

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About Qlicksmart:
Qlicksmart Pty Ltd is an ISO 13485:2016-accredited R&D and manufacturing company committed to making healthcare professional’s lives easier and safer, so that they can focus on patient care. Established in 1999 by Australian medical doctors, our award-winning safety devices are used in over 50 countries worldwide. Qlicksmart works with innovators from the healthcare sector to deliver solutions which target the overlooked concerns of nurses, surgeons, and healthcare facilities. To learn more about Qlicksmart, visit www.qlicksmart.com

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Continuing Education Credits Sponsored by

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Innovations in Sharps Management – Scalpel Safety and Ampoule Safety

OVERVIEW

The risks associated with sharps injuries can be significant and life threatening. The old concept that patient safety and staff safety are exclusive of each other no longer prevails. Given the severe threats from scalpel injuries, regulatory recommendations and guidelines have progressively improved. OSHA published “Using fingers to remove a used scalpel blade does not meet requirements”. The standard of practice is: no fingers or forceps for scalpel removal and no re-sheathing of scalpel blades.

Of great importance to nurses and surgical technologists are the safety methods that should be incorporated into their work environment. One of the most significant methods is to employ a single-handed scalpel blade remover in combination with a hands free passing technique. You need to work in a safe environment to ensure you are able to deliver the best safety for your patients.

LEARNER OBJECTIVES

After completing this continuing education activity, the participant should be able to:

1. Identify the risks associated with sharps injuries.
2. Discuss incidence of sharps injuries and statistics to recognize that you are at risk.
3. Discuss why staff ignore their own personal safety.
4. Discuss regulatory issues, guidelines, and updates.
5. Explain the concept and cost benefit of scalpel safety & ampoule safety.
6. Outline methods for implementing safety into the workplace.

INTENDED AUDIENCE

This continuing education activity has been designed for perioperative nurses and other perioperative healthcare professionals who are involved in the use of sharps and exposed to sharp injuries. CEU = 1 Contact Hour of continuing education.

TEACHING METHODOLOGIES

This continuing education activity is governed by principles of adult learning. PowerPoint images will be used to augment the speaker’s presentations and a supportive study guide with content and references is provided to each participant. Attendees will have an active role in discussion as well as opportunities to ask questions and share experiences.

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Presenter:

Consultant to Qlicksmart – Australia,

Pharmalink Regulatory Affairs Consultant, Vicro LLC Regulatory Affairs Consultant

Member of I.O.D., London England,

Invited Lecturer : FIME, Miami, Fl.;  RSNA, Chicago Ill.; Medica, Duesseldorf, Germany

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