Research

These guidelines have been developed under section 39 of the National Law. They are aimed at:

• health practitioners registered under the National Law who perform exposure-prone procedures (EPPs);
• students registered under the National Law who perform EPPs, and
• registered health practitioners who are treating registered health practitioners or students living with a blood-borne virus (BBV) and who perform EPPs.

Education providers and employers of registered health practitioners may also bring these guidelines to the attention of their students and employees respectively. In brief, these guidelines:

• inform all practitioners and students that they must comply with the Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) guidelines Australian national guidelines for the management of healthcare workers living with blood borne viruses and healthcare workers who perform exposure prone procedures at risk of exposure to blood borne viruses, as current and as revised in the future. The current CDNA guidelines are attached to these guidelines;

• explain when a practitioner treating a registered health practitioner or student who performs EPPs may have a responsibility to notify Ahpra, and
• provide information on the range of actions that a Board may take if it receives a notification that a registered health practitioner or student living with a BBV who performs EPPs is not complying with the CDNA guidelines and may potentially pose a risk to the public.