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HIPAA alert: If you think the massive privacy law doesn't apply to employee health, take another look. The exceptions to HIPAA are very specific ones, says Karl Auerbach, MD, MS, MBA, FACOEM, associate professor of occupational and environmental medicine at the University of Rochester (NY).
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The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health identified the following parameters for the effective use of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation to protect against tuberculosis:
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The Joint Commission has issued a major new document on the difficult issue of assessing hand hygiene compliance by health care workers. We'll put the bottom line at the top: there are many approaches to solve the Achilles "hand" of infection prevention and none of them is a panacea.
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How protective is the respirator that you provide your employees?
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Workers' compensation claims were painfully high when Bonnie Johnson took over as director of employee health at Citrus Valley Health Partners in West Covina, CA, a system of three acute-care hospitals, a hospice facility, and about 3,200 employees that is 25 miles east of Los Angeles.
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New guidelines promote the use of ultraviolet light in hospitals as an effective way to reduce the risk of tuberculosis transmission from the undiagnosed case.
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Recent outbreaks of hepatitis C are a wake-up call to boost infection control practices, particularly in outpatient settings. But they also underscore the prevalence of HCV and the continued occupational risk to health care workers.
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Although tuberculosis has reached an all-time low in the United States, the persistence of TB globally including extensively drug-resistant (XDR)-TB means that U.S. hospitals must remain vigilant to prevent spread of the disease, public health experts say.
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If you've implemented safe patient handling but serious musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) injuries persist at your hospital, perhaps you haven't gone far enough. Employees in many nonpatient care areas also face significant risks.
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One pressure ulcer can cost as much as your entire budget for new patient handling equipment. That alone is a reason to create a safe patient handling program that can accommodate patients of size, whether or not your hospital performs bariatric surgery.