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Remember that even though the whole point of the Stark Voluntary Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol (SRDP) at least from the provider's perspective is to settle potential Stark liabilities for less than its full exposure, the government wants to know about your entire potential liability.
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Hospitals are places of high emotion and drama, of pain and fear, of last resort, and sometimes of desperation. In this patient-centered world, there has been a high tolerance of aggressive or explosive behavior. But not anymore.
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In its compliance directive on workplace violence, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration advises employers to conduct a hazard analysis, assess needs for physical changes to reduce risk, provide employee training, and implement a variety of controls, such as bright lighting and security cameras.
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Despite tireless efforts to promote workplace influenza vaccination programs, the vast majority of occupational health professionals see participation rates that are far less than what they hoped for. One reason, not surprisingly, is a misconception that the vaccine itself can give you the flu.
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An employee's misuse of opioids may go undetected unless there is a positive drug screen, poor job performance, high absenteeism, erratic behavior, an accident or near miss, or an overdose. You may be the only one who can prevent this from happening.
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Growing numbers of companies are implementing "no hire" policies for smokers, while others are imposing health premium penalties for workers who smoke. Reasons include higher health care costs, decreased productivity, and higher absenteeism all linked to smoking.
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If you're planning to invest in dozens of mountain bikes for sedentary office workers to ride during lunch breaks, you may abandon the idea if most admit they'd never use them because they don't want to get sweaty at work. On the other hand, if a worker tells you she wouldn't dream of using the company gym because it's too dirty, providing antibacterial wipes is an easy, low-cost solution.
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While medication adherence is a critical element in reducing the impact of illness, employers should view it as just one of many components that are needed in strategic employee health management initiatives.
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Occupational health should consider an employee's tobacco dependence as a "chronic relapsing condition," according to the Office of the Surgeon General's Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence clinical practice guideline 2008 update.
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After his cheek was fractured when a patient smashed a fist into his jaw in the emergency department, Jeaux Rinehart, RN, BSN, PHN, figured he'd had enough. He worked for 32 years as an emergency room nurse and loved it, but finally he could no longer tolerate patients hitting, yelling, cursing, or spitting at him.
