OSHA's new foray into health care
Key points to ponder
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's request for information (RFI) for possible regulatory action on infectious disease risk to health care workers includes the following key points:
- The risk of the nation's 16.5 million healthcare and social service workers from infectious diseases is of particular concern to OSHA. Workplace-acquired infections are a persistent problem and there are also increasing levels of drug-resistant microorganisms in healthcare settings. Moreover, most current infection control efforts are intended primarily for patient protection and not for worker protection. OSHA has developed a request for information on infectious diseases to better assess the extent of the problem and better understand ways to protect healthcare workers from infectious diseases.
- OSHA is revising the scope of the request for information (as previously announced in the Fall 2009 DOL Regulatory Agenda) from airborne infectious diseases to now consider all of the possible routes of infectious disease transmission. The revision will allow the Agency to consider the full range of infectious disease hazards that healthcare workers face and also more closely aligns the overall approach to infection control used in existing CDC guidance and industry standards.
- The RFI will solicit information on a variety of topics related to infectious diseases including: How diseases are most commonly transmitted and the practices currently in place to safeguard workers; The implementation of recognized infection control measures in preventing occupational infection of workers, and to what extent voluntary measures currently in place are being followed.
- OSHA is also seeking information concerning other workplaces that may have an elevated exposure risk.
- The RFI will assist OSHA in determining the number of healthcare workers in traditional and non-traditional healthcare settings who are at risk of exposure to infectious diseases. It is too early to determine the number of stakeholders who will be affected at this time.
OSHA comment deadline is Aug. 4th
Submit comments by mail, fax, email
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is requesting information for possible regulatory action on infectious disease risk to health care workers. Comments on the OSHA request for information must be submitted by August 4, 2010. Infection preventionists may submit comments and additional materials by any of the following methods:
- Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal Rulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for making electronic submissions.
- Fax: If your submissions, including attachments, are not longer than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693–1648.
- Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger or courier service: You must submit three copies of your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA–2010–0003, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N–2625, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210.
All submissions must include the Agency name and the OSHA docket number for this rulemaking (OSHA Docket No. OSHA–2010–0003). Submissions, including any personal information you provide, are placed in the public docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's request for information (RFI) for possible regulatory action on infectious disease risk to health care workers includes the following key points:You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content