Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by
inserting after section 53C the following section:-

Section 53D. Any acute or non-acute hospital licensed under this chapter
shall ensure the provision of services to individuals through the use of
hallow-bore needle devices or other technology which minimize the risk of
injury to health care workers from hypodermic syringes or needles, in
accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the department.

SECTION 2. The Department of Public Health, in accordance with the
provisions of section 53D of chapter 111 of the General Laws, shall promulgate
rules and regulations requiring the use, at all acute and non-acute hospitals,
of only such devices which minimize the risk of injury to health care workers
from needlestick and sharps, so-called.

Such rules and regulations promulgated by the department shall include
the following requirements:

    (1) Written exposure control plans shall be developed by each acute
and non-acute hospital that include an effective procedure for identifying and
selecting existing sharps prevention technology, so-called, of the types
specified by the department.

    (2) Sharps injury prevention technology shall be included as
engineering or work practice controls, except in cases where the employer or
other appropriate party can demonstrate circumstances in which the technology
does not promote employee or patient safety or interferes with a medical
procedure. Those circumstances shall be specified by the employer and shall
include, but not be limited to, circumstances where the technology is
medically contraindicated or not more effective than alternative measures used
by the employer to prevent exposure incidents. In all cases the department
shall make the final determination as to whether an employer or other
appropriate party has demonstrated in a satisfactory manner circumstances
which warrant an exemption from the inclusion of sharps injury prevention
technology.

    (3) Information concerning exposure incidents shall be recorded in a
sharps injury log to be kept within the facility and reported annually to the
department, including but not limited to, the type and brand of device
involved in the incident. Such logs shall be used as the basis for continuing
quality improvement in reducing sharps injuries through the provision of
education and the procurement of improved products. Such logs shall be kept
confidential and shall be used only for the intended purposes of this section.

    (4) Written exposure control plans shall be updated when necessary to
reflect progress in sharps prevention technology as determined by the
department.

The department shall promulgate all rules and regulations pursuant to
this section in consultation with an Advisory Committee composed of, but not
limited to: the department's director of infectious disease, a consumer, a
technical expert, and a representative from the Massachusetts Nurses
Association, the Massachusetts Association of Occupational and Environmental
Medicine, the Massachusetts Medical Society, and the Massachusetts Hospital
Association.

The department, in consultation with the Advisory Committee, shall
compile and maintain a list of needleless systems, needles, and sharps,
so-called, with engineered injury protections meeting the purposes of section
53D of chapter 111 of the General Laws. Said list shall be available to assist
employers in complying with rules and regulations promulgated in accordance
with this act.

The department shall promulgate said rules and regulations no later than
November 1, 2000.