Survey shows patients receive too many needle sticks

A survey found 11% of hospitalized patients needed 10 or more needle sticks to obtain a single blood sample, with more than half requiring multiple needle stick attempts for a single procedure. In addition, 77% of patients did not know they should expect no more than two needle stick attempts from one clinician, irrespective of their condition. More than 90% of nurses agree repeated needle sticks negatively affect patient experience and want alternatives to reduce the number patients receive. Nurses agree delays to patient treatment caused by difficult venous access or fear of needles are problematic (89% and 84%, respectively), and 67% say problems related to venous access take too much time and contribute to workforce inefficiencies. (BD news release, 3/27/24)