Incidents that expose individuals to blood-borne pathogens occur equally frequent in the hospital and non-hospital (community) setting. Therefore, a regional expert counseling center, accessible around-the-clock, for all types of blood-exposure incidents is needed. Blood-exposure prevention programs should aim at a reduction of high-risk incidents within hospitals, and at increasing the awareness for vaccination and early reporting within the community setting.

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The practical matters associated with management of blood-exposure incidents, such as timely reporting and administration of prophylaxis, should be optimized for incidents that occur at times other than regular office hours and outside of hospitals. The establishment of a 24-hour centralized counseling facility that was open 7 days a week to manage blood exposures resulted in significant improvements in incident management and better care.

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