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With the Obama administration offering up to $19 billion in incentives as part of the federal stimulus package for medical providers to go digital, and the goal for every American to have an electronic health record by 2014, the potential for data breaches dramatically increases.
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The nation's rising rate of obesity has required hospitals to rethink patient care, including different beds and lift equipment. But obesity also poses issues for hospitals as employers.
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Employers can have an impact on employee's lifestyle choices through a variety of workplace interventions. Here are some identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its LEAN Works program:
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Particulate respirators - a controversial step beyond common surgical masks - are now mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to protect health care workers from acquiring H1N1 pandemic influenza A from patients. With respirator shortages feared, "good-faith efforts" by health care employers will be recognized by OSHA, which nevertheless is warning that citations and fines may result from inspections that will be primarily prompted by employee complaints.
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Faced with the prospect of a citation by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, hospitals are adjusting to the updated federal guidance to use fit-tested N95 respirators when caring for 2009 H1N1 patients.
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In its updated guidance on infection control measures and 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges health care facilities to use a hierarchy of controls and provides examples of measures they should take.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered additional guidance on policies related to exposed or ill health care workers:
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The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) wants to know about cases of serious illness or fatality related to novel H1N1 among health care workers.
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The new focus on record keeping by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration will not target hospitals, but hospital employers still should be prepared for greater scrutiny of their OSHA 300 logs, according to an expert in workplace safety compliance.
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In an intense effort to improve influenza vaccination rates, more hospitals and health systems are moving toward mandatory policies for immunizing health care workers. But a closer look at vaccination rates reveals that hospitals are actually already vaccinating almost two-thirds of their employees (63%), while vaccinations lag at nursing homes and ambulatory care centers.
