Responsibility to patients
Ophthalmologists and Optometrists have a moral and ethical responsibility to care for all patients.
It is also a legal and ethical responsibility of health care providers to be knowledgeable about effective techniques to prevent disease transmission.
By adopting universal infection control precautions as a routine aspect of eye care, eye care professionals, patients and staff are at extremely low risk of contracting bloodborne, eye related, or air-borne infections.
An infection control plan to address the specific needs of an eye care practice, including staff education, should be developed and implemented. The OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen regulation is a crucial component of disease prevention for an eye care practice.