Complications, Complication Rates, And 90 Day Readmission...

Abstract With the recent focus on dramatic cuts and escalating healthcare costs in the United States, a new center of attention has been placed upon postoperative readmission and reimbursement. Although sacral fractures constitute a large component of all pelvic fractures, there is relatively little data investigating differences in the postoperative length of stay (LOS), the complication rates, and the 90-day readmissions for these patients. The purpose of this paper was to investigate differences in postoperative length of stay, complication rates, and 90-day readmission rates for patients with operative isolated sacral fractures. All patients who presented to a large tertiary care center with isolated sacral fractures in an 11 year†¦show more content†¦This significant difference in LOS between ORIF vs. percutaneous fixation of sacral injuries leading to an average difference of $13,590 in average inpatient cost highlights predicative information to potentially reduce perioperati ve costs related to sacral fractures for orthopaedic surgeons. INTRODUCTION 45% of all pelvic fractures are sacral injuries [1]. They can occur in high energy collisions, with motor vehicle accidents making up 57% of these crush injuries [2]. Traumatic force can lead to compression, which then precipitates neurological complications [3]. For this reason, these fractures are musculoskeletal injuries requiring emergent action at trauma centers to reduce the risk of complications. While open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) methods permits direct visualization of the injured pelvis, there are highly variable wound complication rates ranging from 3.9% to 27% [4]. Critics of ORIF are concerned about the extremely high risk of infection post-operatively, which can increase from 18% to 27% for fractures treated early and late, respectively [5]. It is reasonable to consider a more minimally invasive technique such as percutaneous fixation, which uses screws to mechanically stabilize an unstable sacrum [6]. Percutaneous fixation with iliosacral screws, for example, have led to decreases in surgical time, exposure related hazards, and soft-tissue disruption [7]. With the recent focus on dramatic cuts and

Entrepreneurship - 1228 Words

Similarities and differences between a manager, a business owner and an entrepreneur Date: 12/8/2011 Version: 1.0 Student Number: 110369257 Module: BUS1004 Similarities and differences between a manager, a business owner and an entrepreneur By Henry Amm Introduction The public perception of entrepreneurs today is almost legendary. They seem to seamlessly start up small businesses and make them grow and develop themselves almost overnight to big successes. (Beaver, 2005) This essay will briefly cover the differences and similarities between managers, business owners and entrepreneurs. Differences and similarities between managers, owners and entrepreneurs Back in the 19th century being a businessman, in other words being an†¦show more content†¦Therefore he often runs a lifestyle firm that is based on trade or craft which, however, will not grow to any considerable size. The entrepreneur in turn is opportunistic, innovative, self-confident and acts proactive and decisive. He is highly self-motivated by his vision and is therefore willing to take even greater risks and can live with a high uncertainty. That is why the entrepreneur has a growth firm and is pursuing growth and personal wealth. Lastly the manager is administrating, or in other words managing, an entity that does not belong to him. His ‘purpose’ is to build up the organisation, by means that are similar to larger firms. (Burns, 2007) However there are some exceptions from that generalization: An owner-manager of course can have a growing business, while an entrepreneur could manage a business he owns together with a business associate and therefore ha s not complete control over the capital. (Burns, 2007) As Fraja (1996) suggests every firm can be assigned to either one of the following types: Either it is an entrepreneurial firm, where the owner-manager or entrepreneur is in exclusive control, organizes production, borrows funds and retains any residual returns from his work. Or it is a managerial firm, where the individual that has the right to residual returns remains outside the company and the individual that has theShow MoreRelatedEntrepreneurship1111 Words   |  5 PagesEntrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur or one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods. This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response to a perceived opportunity. The most obvious form of entrepreneurship is that of starting new businesses (referred as Startup Company); however, in recent years, the term has been extended to include socialRead MoreEntrepreneurship1326 Words   |  6 Pages‘Critically evaluate the key theoretical developments of the term Entrepreneurship’. Student Name : Jonalee B. Magtoto Student ID : 1009007374 Matriculation No: 20037830 Date: June 13th 2013 Word Count : 2,091 words Introduction: Entrepreneurship as a lot of meaning but for me it divided into two separate fundamental, the first part debate high involveRead MoreEntrepreneurship4156 Words   |  17 PagesEntrepreneurship Challenges in 21st. Century | | What is Entrepreneurship? The definition of entrepreneurship has been debated among scholars, educators, researchers, and policy makers since the concept was first established in the early 1700’s. The term â€Å"entrepreneurship† comes from the French verb â€Å"entreprendre† and the German word â€Å"unternehmen†, both means to â€Å"undertake†. Bygrave and Hofer in1891 defined the entrepreneurial process as ‘involving all the functions, activities, and actions associatedRead MoreEntrepreneurship4409 Words   |  18 Pages1 LESSON- 1 ENTREPRENEUR AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP Dr. Jyotsna Sethi STRUCTURE 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Objectives 1.2 Entrepreneurship as a Career Option 1.3 Concepts and Definitions 1.3.1 Entrepreneur 1.3.2 Entrepreneurship 1.3.3 Enterprise 1.3.4 Difference between Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship 1.4 Role of Entrepreneurship in Economic Development 1.4.1 Entrepreneurship and Economic Development 1.4.2Entrepreneurship and Education 1.5 FunctionsRead MoreEntrepreneurship1106 Words   |  5 Pagesenterprise without undermining his/her relationship. In this last case a good entrepreneur should be free from personal commitment, at first, at least, because his/her work, or his/her relationship, could be compromised. Q2: Inc. 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Every year the number of peopleRead Moreentrepreneurship2937 Words   |  12 PagesSCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT COVER SHEET Student Name Navpreet Kaur Student ID S265457 Assessment Title Case Study 1 Unit Number and Title PRT503 Entrepreneurship for Professionals Lecturer/Tutor Mr. Jamal El-Den Date Submitted 07 August 2014 Date Received OFFICE USE ONLY KEEP A COPY Please be sure to make a copy of your work. If you have submitted assessment work electronically make sure you have a backup copy. PLAGIARISM PlagiarismRead MoreThe Concept Of An Entrepreneurship1345 Words   |  6 PagesThe definition of an entrepreneurship is a commonly argued point, with several definitions given by many different people. The Business in Action textbook defines entrepreneurship as the combination of innovation, initiative and willingness take risks required to create and operate new businesses and an entrepreneur as a person with positive, forward-thinking desire to create profitable, sustainable business enterprise. According to this definition, a small business owner could definitely be classedRead MoreSocial Entrepreneurship1926 Words   |  8 PagesRose Spiegel Rationale 5.7.13 Everyone describes social entrepreneurship differently. While many have been able to describe the traits and features of a social entrepreneur there doesn’t seem at all to be a consensus about the definition of what constitutes the field of social entrepreneurship. Susan Davis and David Bornstein in their book, Social Entrepreneurship: What Everyone Needs to Know define social entrepreneurship as â€Å"a process by which citizens build or transform institutions to advanceRead MoreCorporate Entrepreneurship1295 Words   |  6 PagesCorporate Entrepreneurship Corporate Entrepreneurship can be seen as the process whereby an individual or a group creates a new venture within an existing organization, revitalizes and renews an organization ,or innovates. Zahra’s(1986) definition of corporate entrepreneurship suggests aformal or informal activity aimed at creating new businesses in established firms through product and process innovations and market developments,whereas sathe(1985) defines corporate entrepreneurship as a process

Coca-Cola Market Opportunity Free Essays

The Coca-Cola Company has long been a worldwide business. The first soda fountain sales to Canada and Mexico were recorded in 1897 with the first international bottler established in Panama in 1906. Coca-Cola entered China in 1927 and the 100th country, Sierra Leone, in 1957. We will write a custom essay sample on Coca-Cola Market Opportunity or any similar topic only for you Order Now Today, the Coca-Cola Company is the largest beverage company with the most extensive distribution system in the world. In the first two decades of the twentieth century, the international growth of Coca-Cola had been rather haphazard. It began in 1900, when Charles Howard Candler, eldest son of Asa Candler, took a jug of syrup with him on vacation to England. A modest order for five gallons of syrup was mailed back to Atlanta. The same year, Coca-Cola travelled to Cuba and Puerto Rico, and it wasn’t long before the international distribution of syrup began. Through the early 1900s, bottling operations were built in Cuba, Panama, Canada, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam (western Pacific island). In 1920, a bottling company began operating in France as the first bottler of Coca-Cola on the European continent. In 1926, Robert W. Woodruff, chief executive officer and chairman of the board, committed the company to organized international expansion by establishing the Foreign Department, which in 1930 became a subsidiary known as the Coca-Cola Export Corporation. By that time, the number of countries with bottling operations had almost quadrupled, and the company had initiated a partnership with the Olympic Games that transcended cultural boundaries. Coca-Cola and the Olympic Games began their association in the summer of 1928, when an American freighter arrived in Amsterdam carrying the United States Olympic team and 1,000 cases of Coca-Cola. Forty thousand spectators filled the stadium to witness two firsts: the first lighting of the Olympic flame and the first sale of Coke at an Olympiad. Dressed in caps and coats bearing the Coca-Cola trademark, vendors satisfied the fans’ thirst, while outside the stadium, refreshment stands, cafes, restaurants, and small shops called ‘winkles’ served Coke in bottles and from soda fountains. The company began a major push to establish bottling operations outside the USA. Plants were opened in France, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Belgium, Italy, and South Africa. By the time the Second World War began, Coca-Cola was being bottled in forty-four countries, including those on both sides of the conflict. Far from devastating the business, the war simply presented a new set of challenges and opportunities for the entire Coca-Cola system. The entry of the United States into the war brought an order from Robert Woodruff in 1941 ‘to see that every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca-Cola for 5 cents, wherever he is and whatever it costs the Company. This effort to supply the armed forces with Coke was being launched when an urgent cablegram arrived from General Dwight Eisenhower’s Allied Headquarters in North Africa. Dated 29 June 1943, it requested shipment of materials and equipment for ten bottling plants. Prefaced by the directive that the shipments were not to replace other military cargo, the cablegram also requested shipment of 3 million filled bottles of Coca-Cola, along with supplies for producing the same quantity twice monthl y. Within six months, a company engineer had flown to Algiers and opened the first plant, the forerunner of sixty four bottling plants shipped abroad during the Second World War. The plants were set up as close as possible to combat areas in Europe and the Pacific. More than 5 billion bottles of Coke were consumed by military service personnel during the war, in addition to countless servings through dispensers and mobile, self-contained units in battle areas. But the presence of Coca-Cola did more than just lift the morale of the troops. In many areas, it gave local people their first taste of Coca-Cola. When peace returned, the Coca-Cola system was poised for unprecedented worldwide growth. From the mid-1940s until 1960, the number of countries with bottling operations nearly doubled. As the world emerged from a time of conflict, Coca-Cola emerged as a worldwide symbol of friendship and refreshment. The Coca-Cola Company is now operating in more than 200 countries and producing nearly 400 brands; the Coca-Cola system has successfully applied a simple formula on a global scale: provide a moment of refreshment for a very small amount of money-a billion times a day. The Coca-Cola Company and its network of bottlers comprise the most sophisticated and pervasive production and distribution system in the world. From Boston to Beijing, from Montreal to Moscow, Coca-Cola, more than any other consumer product, has brought pleasure to thirsty consumers around the globe. 1. Trace the Internationalisation / Globalisation model of coco cola. 2. What were the Triggers Motives for coco cola to global? 3. Why do you think coco cola was so successful despite the fact that ‘food drinks’ preferences are highly local like in case of tea/ coffee? How to cite Coca-Cola Market Opportunity, Papers

SOM Assignment Essay Example

SOM Assignment Essay Question no. 1 Which of the eight elements of the service marketing mix are addressed in this case? Give examples of each â€Å"P† you identify. Answer. Product Element: Beckett’s core product is dentistry services in a quality environment. All facilitating supplementary services increase the value of her core product. She tries to differentiate her core product from her competitors in terms of quality. Place Element: Place is the Dr. Beckett’s Dental Office. Time can be the working hours of the office. Process Element: Patient is the direct recipient of dental service, so it is a people processing service. Patients must be physically present to receive the service. We will write a custom essay sample on SOM Assignment specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on SOM Assignment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on SOM Assignment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Productivity Element: She wants to differentiate her service in terms of the quality. She moved a new office to provide an efficient environment for employees. People Element: Dr. Beckett employees are her people. She motivates her staff with training, vacations. She gives importance to her staff’s suggestions and staff‘s motivation increases. Physical Environment: Dr. Beckett’s new office is modern and attractive. Her  staff wears uniforms which match with the decoration of office. Price Elements: Price is higher than other competitors. Other than financial costs, patients have non-financial costs which can be listed as: physical, psychological and time expenditures. Promotion Element: There is no advertising. Main tool is â€Å"word of mouth†. They use VCR to show the dental processes. Also a literature is available for the patients about after treatment procedures. Question no. 2 Why do people dislike going to dentist? Do you feel Dr. Beckett has addressed this problem effectively? Answer  Patients can have nonfinancial costs in dental service. These are psychological, physical and time cost. Yes, I think Dr. Beckett has addressed this problem effectively. She knows that patient must have a dental treatment and tries to do the best job and make them as comfortable as possible. Question no. 3 How do Beckett and her staff educate patients about the service they are receiving? What else could they do? Answer  Ã‚  Dr. Beckett and her staffs provide videos about the dental operation to educate patients. They can have before and after treatment photo album for new patients and this may be reduce their fear. Also brochures can be useful to educate patients. Apart from educating the customer, maybe she can have a dentist partner to balance the excess demand. Question no. 4 What supplementary services are offered? How do they enhance service delivery? Answer   Both facilitating and enhancing supplementary services are offered. Facilitating supplementary services: Beckett’s patients know dental procedures before the treatment. (Information) When patients make an appointment for dental care (order taking) Enhancing supplementary services: There was a small conference room with toys for children. They can play with toys when their parent’s receiving dental service (safekeeping) Before and after treatment, Dr. Beckett and her employees consult with patients. They consult them about how to maximize their treatment outcomes. (Consultation) Dr Beckett’s office provides a comfortable and modern environment to patients. Patients can listen classical music, drink a cup of coffee, and sit on comfortable chairs. Also employees make follow-up calls to patients  after treatment which is a competitive advantage in service Question no. 5 Contrast your own dental care experiences with those offered by Beckett’s practice. What differences do you see? Based on your review of this case, what advice would you give (a) to your current or former dentist and (b) to Dr Beckett? Answer My dental care experience is absolutely different from Beckett’s practice. My dentist office is poorly designed and there is no rescheduling option. She always makes me wait more than 30minutes. There is no headphone, classical music or abundant of flowers. She has what she needs. But her dental practice is perfect; I feel no pain when I have operations. a)Although if she redesigns her office and provide more f acilitating and enhancing supplementary services, I will be more happy. It is clear that there is a tradeoff between the cheap cost and expensive cost. If you want to be in a comfortable environment, you should pay more money. b)From my point of view, Dr. Beckett provides her service in a quality environment. May be she can offer pet care for patients who have pets. Also a parking place can be a good idea.

An Explanation of Unicode Character Encoding

An Explanation of Unicode Character Encoding For a computer to be able to store text and numbers that humans can understand, there needs to be a code that transforms characters into numbers. The Unicode standard defines such a code by using character encoding. The reason character encoding is so important is so that every device can display the same information. A custom character encoding scheme might work brilliantly on one computer, but problems will occur when if you send that same text to someone else. It wont know what youre talking about unless it understands the encoding scheme too. Character Encoding All character encoding does is assign a number to every character that can be used. You  could make a character encoding right now. For example, I could say that the letter A becomes the number 13, a14, 133, #123, and so on. This is where industry-wide standards come in. If the whole computer industry uses the same character encoding scheme, every computer can display the same characters. What Is Unicode? ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) became the first widespread encoding scheme. However, its limited to only 128 character definitions. This is fine for the most common English characters, numbers, and punctuation, but is a bit limiting for the rest of the world. Naturally, the rest of the world wants the same encoding scheme for their characters too. However, for a little, while depending on where you were, there might have been a different character displayed for the same ASCII code. In the end, the other parts of the world began creating their own encoding schemes, and things started to get a little bit confusing. Not only were the coding schemes of different lengths, programs needed to figure out which encoding scheme they were supposed to use. It became apparent that a new character encoding scheme was needed, which is when the Unicode standard was created. The objective of Unicode is to unify all the different encoding schemes so that the confusion between computers can be limited as much as possible. These days, the Unicode standard defines values for over 128,000 characters and can be seen at the Unicode Consortium. It has several character encoding forms: UTF-8: Only uses one byte (8 bits) to encode English characters. It can use a sequence of bytes to encode other characters. UTF-8 is widely used in email systems and on the internet.UTF-16: Uses two bytes (16 bits) to encode the most commonly used characters. If needed, the additional characters can be represented by a pair of 16-bit numbers.UTF-32: Uses four bytes (32 bits) to encode the characters. It became apparent that as the Unicode standard grew, a 16-bit number is too small to represent all the characters. UTF-32 is capable of representing every Unicode character as one number. Note: UTF means Unicode Transformation Unit. Code Points A code point is the value that a character is given in the Unicode standard. The values according to Unicode are written as hexadecimal numbers and have a prefix of U. For example, to encode the characters we looked at earlier: A is U0041a is U00611 is U0031# is U0023 These code points are split into 17 different sections called planes, identified by numbers 0 through 16. Each plane holds 65,536 code points. The first plane, 0, holds the most commonly used characters and is known as the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP). Code Units The encoding schemes are made up of code units, which are used to provide an index for where a character is positioned on a plane. Consider UTF-16 as an example. Each 16-bit number is a code unit. The code units can be transformed into code points. For instance, the flat note symbol â™ ­ has a code point of U1D160 and lives on the second plane of the Unicode standard (Supplementary Ideographic Plane). It would be encoded using the combination of the 16-bit code units UD834 and UDD60. For the BMP, the values of the code points and code units are identical. This allows a shortcut for UTF-16 that saves a lot of storage space. It only needs to use one 16-bit number to represent those characters. How Does Java Use Unicode? Java was created around the time when the Unicode standard had values defined for a much smaller set of characters. Back then, it was felt that 16-bits would be more than enough to encode all the characters that would ever be needed. With that in mind, Java was designed to use UTF-16. The char data type was originally used to represent a 16-bit Unicode code point. Since Java SE v5.0, the char represents a code unit. It makes little difference for representing characters that are in the Basic Multilingual Plane because the value of the code unit is the same as the code point. However, it does mean that for the characters on the other planes, two chars are needed. The important thing to remember is that a single char data type can no longer represent all the Unicode characters.

The Meaning of -N Desu in Japanese

The Meaning of '-N Desu' in Japanese The phrase –n desu (ã‚“ 㠁 §Ã£ â„¢), meaning it is, is sometimes used at the end of a sentence. It is also commonly used in conversation, though it might be difficult for beginners to learn. The phrase has an explanatory or confirmatory function. The difference between –masu (ã€Å"㠁 ¾Ã£ â„¢), another nominal ending for a verb, and  Ã¢â‚¬â€œn desu is very subtle. This makes it very hard to translate. The nominal ending  Ã¢â‚¬â€œn desu can be translated as it is the case that or it is for the reason that. However, there is no true English equivalent. –N Desu Versus –Masu One of the best ways to understand the subtle, nuanced meaning of –n desu is to compare it to  Ã¢â‚¬â€œmasu  by viewing how two sentences use these endings differently: Ryokou ni iku n desu ka? (りょ㠁“㠁† 㠁 « 㠁„㠁  ã‚“ 㠁 §Ã£ â„¢ 㠁‹ã€‚) Are you going to travel? Ryokou ni ikimasu ka? (  Ã£â€šÅ Ã£â€šâ€¡Ã£ â€œÃ£ â€  㠁 « 㠁„㠁 Ã£  ¾Ã£ â„¢ 㠁‹ã€‚) Are you going on a trip? In the first sentence, which uses –n desu, the  speaker assumes that the listener is going on a trip and just wants her to confirm it. In the second sentence, which uses –masu,  the speaker simply wants to know if the listener is going on a trip or not. Formal Versus Informal You also need to use a different form of  Ã¢â‚¬â€œn desu when it  is attached directly to a plain form of the verb in an informal situation. When the circumstances are informal, use –n da  instead of –n desu, as demonstrated in the table. The sentences are written first in hiragana, which is a phonetic syllabary  (or transliteration) made from simplified  kanji  characters. These sentences are then spelled using Japanese characters. An English translation follows on the right side of the table. Ashita doubutsuen ni ikimasu.明æâ€" ¥Ã¥â€¹â€¢Ã§â€° ©Ã¥Å"’㠁 «Ã¨ ¡Å'㠁 Ã£  ¾Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€š(formal) I am going to the zoo tomorrow.(simple statement) Ashita doubutsuen ni iku.明æâ€" ¥Ã¥â€¹â€¢Ã§â€° ©Ã¥Å"’㠁 «Ã¨ ¡Å'㠁 Ã£â‚¬â€š(informal) Ashita doubutsuen ni iku n desu.明æâ€" ¥Ã¥â€¹â€¢Ã§â€° ©Ã¥Å"’㠁 «Ã¨ ¡Å'㠁 Ã£â€šâ€œÃ£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€š(formal) I am going to the zoo tomorrow.(explaining his or her plans for tomorrow.) Ashita doubutsuen ni iku n da.明æâ€" ¥Ã¥â€¹â€¢Ã§â€° ©Ã¥Å"’㠁 «Ã¨ ¡Å'㠁 Ã£â€šâ€œÃ£   Ã£â‚¬â€š(informal) Note how in Japanese, social context is very important. In English, the social situation, or position of the person you are addressing, would make little or no difference. You would tell a good friend at school or a visiting dignitary at a formal state dinner that you are going to the zoo using the same words. Yet, in a formal situation in Japan, you would use –n desu, but you would use  Ã¢â‚¬â€œn da if the circumstance were less formal. In the case of the first two sentences above, you would use –masu  in a formal situation but omit the ending altogether if the setting or circumstances were informal. Why Questions In Japanese, why questions are often completed with –n desu because they are asking for a reason or an explanation, as the table demonstrates: Doushite byouin ni iku n desu ka.Haha ga byouki nan desu.㠁 ©Ã£ â€ Ã£ â€"㠁 ¦Ã§â€"…é™ ¢Ã£  «Ã£  Ã£â€šâ€œÃ£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ¦ ¯ Ã£ Å'çâ€"…æ °â€"㠁 ªÃ£â€šâ€œÃ£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€š Why are you going to the hospital?Because my mother is sick. Doushite tabenai n desu ka.Onaka ga suiteinai n desu.㠁 ©Ã£ â€ Ã£ â€"㠁 ¦Ã© £Å¸Ã£  ¹Ã£  ªÃ£ â€žÃ£â€šâ€œÃ£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ£ Å Ã£  ªÃ£ â€¹Ã£ Å'㠁™ã â€žÃ£  ¦Ã£  ªÃ£ â€žÃ£â€šâ€œÃ£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€š Why don't you eat?Because I am not hungry.

Needle stick injuries Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Needle stick injuries - Research Paper Example These injuries pose a risk for development of various infectious diseases to the injured threatening their employment, health morbidity and mortality. More than 20 different pathogens have been identified to be transmitted through exposure to body fluids or sharps injury. Injuries by sharps and splashes of body fluids are the main routes of transmission for occupational acquisition of blood-borne pathogens among health care workers (Bi et al, 2008). Despite these injuries being common, they are often under reported and in many places, both health care and non-health care workers are unaware of safety methods to prevent these infections. Globally, needle stick injuries are the most common cause of blood-borne infections among health care workers (Wilburn and Eijekamans, 2004). More than 35 million people worldwide constitute health care work force and they represent 12 percent of the working population in the world (Wilburn and Eijekamans, 2004). It is estimated that people working wi th them as non-health workers are even more in numbers (NHS, 2008). ... In this essay, various concerns pertaining to needle stick injuries will be discussed along with current and best practices and strategies to change. Needle stick injuries: causes, risks and concerns According to the Health Protection Agency report (2008), the most common type of exposure that has been reported among health care workers is the percutaneous injury which accounts for 45 percent of exposures. These exposures contributed to significant seroconversion for HCV, HIV and other diseases. The HIV seroconversion rates reported were high, 0.8 percent. In the NHS, needle stick injury continues to be the most commonly reported adverse incident among healthcare workers, which are a potential source for transmission of various diseases like Hepatitis B and C and human immunodeficiency virus. These injuries are also a potential source of transmission of prion-related diseases. The risk of transmission of hepatitis C with needle stick injuries is 3 percent, for hepatitis B is 30 perce nt and for HIV is 0.3 percent (Elmiyeh et al, 2004). The transmission from the patient to the healthcare worker through the injury depends on the viral load of the patient and also on the amount of blood that passes from the patient to the healthcare worker. Other infections which are transmissible through needle stick injuries are malaria, syphilis and herpes (Wilburn and Eijekamans, 2004). Needle stick injuries: current practices There is uncertain information about the prevalence of the diseases among hospital population and health care workers and non-health workers (Elmiyeh et al, 2004). According to a study by Elmiyeh et al (2004), 38 percent of health care workers had atleast one needle