The Joint Commission (TJC) recently updated its standards for preventing and addressing violence in the healthcare workplace.
TJC noted in 2018 healthcare and social service workers were five times more likely to experience workplace violence than all other workers — and that was before the pandemic added additional stress to both patients and staff. Although incidents likely are underreported, violence in healthcare setting comprises “73% of all nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work,” TJC noted in announcing the revised standards. (Additional TJC resources on workplace violence are available online.)
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) does not use specific standards for workplace violence, but the General Duty Clause requires employers to provide their employees with a place of employment that is “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.”
OSHA noted, “The courts have interpreted OSHA’s General Duty Clause to mean that an employer has a legal obligation to provide a workplace free of conditions or activities that either the employer or industry recognizes as hazardous and that cause, or are likely to cause, death or serious physical harm to employees when there is a feasible method to abate the hazard. OSHA has developed Enforcement Procedures and Scheduling for Occupational Exposure to Workplace Violence, which provides guidance and procedures to be followed when conducting inspections and issuing citations related to the occupational exposure to workplace violence.” (Additional OSHA resources on workplace violence are available online.)
The Joint Commission recently updated its standards for preventing and addressing violence in the healthcare workplace. OSHA's General Duty Clause requires employers to provide their employees with a place of employment that is “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.”You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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