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Sixteen years have passed since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the 1998 Guideline for Infection Control in Health Care Personnel. Occupational health professionals and infection preventionists may soon get the updated, user-friendly guidance they need.
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Sharps safety is widespread in U.S. hospitals, thanks in large part to the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act in 2001. However, a recent study shows a persistent hazard: A high proportion of sharps are being discarded unsafely.
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Health care workers exposed to hazardous chemicals in the workplace often lack training or awareness of safety measures, according to the largest-ever federally sponsored survey on health and safety practices in health care.1
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Memories are still fresh of the challenges of respiratory protection during pandemic flu: Inadequate supplies, stockpiles with the wrong size or model, massive fit-testing. But good news is on the horizon.
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Increasing numbers of hospital employee health departments will move to electronic health records (EHRs) in coming years as health systems see the need for big data to better inform population health decisions.
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Thirteen years after the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act required health care employers to use safer sharps devices, hospitals were more frequently cited for violations of the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard than any other occupational health and safety regulation.
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Hospitals that hire temporary workers share responsibility for their safety with the temporary staffing agency, according to a recent bulletin by the Occupational Safety & Health Agency (OSHA).
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Not too many years ago, the primary mission of employee health departments was to handle work-related injuries and job-related medical surveillance. Now the mission has expanded at many facilities to focus on overall health and well-being of the entire population of employees.
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Staff members at provider offices often think, wrongly, that the hospital is responsible for obtaining or denying authorizations.
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By spending about an hour rounding in registration areas, patient access leaders can resolve many staff concerns and boost morale. By rounding, managers can do the following:
