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Harry Geller, MBA, administrator of Othello (WA) Community Hospital, lies down to sleep, a smile on his face as he begins to dream about a sure-fire way to solve patient-handling dilemmas. Moments later, he turns into Superman, flying down the hall and running into a patient room to help staff before they're injured. But on his third feat, Geller faces a "heavy" patient and tumbles to the floor.
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The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health offers the following advice for reducing the risk of exposure to sterilants:
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The processor used to disinfect endoscopes was a closed system. The sterilant was a safer alternative to glutaraldehyde. So why were employees complaining of headaches, eye irritation, shortness of breath and a reduction in their sense of smell?
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At most hospitals, Employee Health runs a lean operation with minimal support staff. As H1N1 influenza cases surged and patients filled the emergency departments, employee health departments struggled to cope with their own tsunami of work:
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The collective sigh of relief was almost audible at the approach of the one-year anniversary of the start of the pandemic of novel H1N1 influenza. Hospitals had dodged a bullet.
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Keeping track of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) would be a new priority under a proposed record-keeping rule, evidence of a new direction for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
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The death of a nurse from the novel H1N1 and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) should have been more thoroughly investigated for a work-related link, according to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA).
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HIPAA states that covered entities may disclose protected health information to law enforcement officials for law enforcement purposes under the following six circumstances, and subject to specified conditions:
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It's a common scenario in any health care facility, especially hospital emergency rooms: The local police ask the nurse or doctor for information about a patient who is either a suspect, a victim, or a witness to a crime. Or perhaps the risk manager receives a more formal request for records. How much can you tell them without violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)?
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The Joint Commission has been working closely with several other organizations, including the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems and the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, to collect data and further define the standard of care in psychiatry, notes Alan Lambert, MD, JD, chair of health care practice with the law firm of Butzel Long in New York City.
