In recognition of Infection Prevention Week (October 20-26th), the Premier Safety Institute® is reminding all healthcare providers about the importance of proper identification and use of medication vials. We are also sharing the new and dynamic infographic about the use of single and multi-dose vials being released by the One & Only Campaign for educating providers and patients.
Ongoing outbreaks - evidence of harm
Since 2001 at least 50 outbreaks involving unsafe injection practices were reported to CDC, with hundreds of patients being infected. Many of these outbreaks were related to improper use of both single and multi-dose vials. A single dose vial typically lacks an antimicrobial preservative and can become contaminated and serve as a source of infection. Multi-dose vials can be used on more than one patient if aseptic technique is followed. However, the CDC recommends that multi-dose vials be assigned to one patient whenever possible.
CMS enforces policy for single-dose vials for only one patient.
CMS issued a memorandum maintaining its existing policy that a citation will be issued if single-dose vials are re-entered and used for multiple patients. CDC also issued a position statement reaffirming its position that vials labeled by manufacturers as "single-dose" or "single-use" should only be used for one patient to protect against life-threatening infections.
Infographic for provider and patient education
The new dynamic infographic from the One & Only Campaign is available in two user-friendly formats:
Additional resources:
- Premier Safety Institute website on injection safety
- CDC injection safety website
- One & Only Campaign Infographic and other resources
- CMS prohibits re-use of single-dose vials on multiple patients (SafetyShare June 2012)
- CDC position on single-dose/single-use vials (SafetyShare April 2012)
