1 in 3 healthcare professionals suffer at least one ampoule injury in their lifetime from opening an ampoule.
This is quite an alarming number if we take into account that in the US alone, 12 million healthcare employees would mean a whopping 4 million healthcare workers would have sustained an ampoule injury at work.
A simple, smart tool can save you from the agony, frustration, unnecessary pain, forgone wages from missed work, and the stress of opening and ampoule.
Here are the top four potential negative impacts from not using an ampoule opener:
- You may cut yourself from opening a glass ampoule
Many healthcare workers are taught to open an ampoule with a piece of gauze, or paper towel, wrapped around the scored neck. You may think the gauze or paper towel may protect you from any shattered glass, but in fact this seemingly safe method of “wrap and break” offers no protection at all. Rather than breaking clean, the ampoule may shatter and expose a jagged edge that can cut your thumb.
- You may contaminate the drug in the ampoule from your cut
If you sustain a laceration from opening a glass ampoule, chances are you may have contaminated the drug solution in the ampoule with your blood, which is then unusable on patients. Who is supposed to bear the cost for the wastage? The hospital that you work at? Yourself? Or the patient?
- You may lose wages from missed work and have to pay for expensive medical bills
A deep laceration in your thumb from ampoule injury would require stitches on the thumb and even a splint. This may cost hundreds of dollars that you may have to pay if your institution is not liable to do so.
As part of your recovery from the injury, your physician would recommend you not to move your hand or fingers to avoid dehiscing the cut. This would mean missing work and forgoing wages. All because of one ampoule injury.
Ampoule injuries are far too common in the healthcare industry; but it doesn’t need to be. All these issues can be avoided with use of a safety-engineered ampoule opener, like the Qlicksmart’s award-winning SnapIT ampoule openers. If you want to avoid experiencing any of negative impacts above, it is time to invest in an ampoule opener.
