HIPAA isn’t as cut and dry as some might have you believe, and many healthcare agencies violate it without realizing they’ve done so. Unfortunately, ignorance is no excuse. You need to make sure you are aware of some of the more common blind spots – that way, you can avoid fumbling into them yourself. The digitization of healthcare has done some amazing things for both staff and patients. Unfortunately, it’s also introduced a huge laundry […]

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) fiscal year (FY) 2019 final statistics show a significant increase in the number of inspections and a record amount of compliance assistance to further the mission of ensuring that employers provide workplaces free of hazards. OSHA’s enforcement activities reflect the department’s continued focus on worker safety. Federal OSHA conducted 33,401 inspections — more inspections than the previous three years — addressing violations related to […]

ATLANTA – When you go to the hospital, you’re probably not thinking that it is one of the most dangerous places to work. A recent study found one in four nurses has been assaulted on the job. Channel 2 Action News requested surveillance video that shows a patient using a pipe from his hospital bed to attack nurses. The attack took place at St. John’s Hospital in Minnesota in 2014. Police handcuffed the man and […]

Innocent people lose their lives on the job trying to protect others yet there remains little to no protection for them. In the healthcare and social services sector, violence against workers is a growing problem across the nation causing severe injuries and often resulting in death, making healthcare one of the most dangerous professions in which to work. “Workplace violence” is defined as “any act of violence or threat of violence, without regard to intent, that […]

A bill mandating a federal workplace violence prevention standard for healthcare and social services passed the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (H.R. 1309), would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to establish an interim standard within 1 year, a proposed standard within 2 years, and a final standard within 4 years. The standard called for in the bill would require […]

At least one-third of doctors and nurses — and possibly as many as half – are burned out from their jobs, raising concerns about the effect of that fatigue on the care patients are receiving, according to a recent study. The report published by the National Academy of Medicine states that between 35% and 54% of medical clinicians report experiencing symptoms of burnout. Researchers found that stress starts in medical school, where aspiring doctors are already […]

The spread of infectious diseases is commonly discussed in the context of hospitals and long-term care facilities. But it should be no surprise that the dental industry is not immune from these threats. The spread of harmful bacteria and viruses in the dental setting can happen quickly and across all parts of the office, not just the operatory. One study isolated colonies of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a difficult-to-treat multidrug resistant organism, from operatory surfaces […]

In today’s tech-dominated world, as more digital devices permeate the practice of medicine, they simultaneously create more opportunities for HIPAA law violations. Telling somebody too much about a patient, walking away from an unlocked computer, or even trying to catch up on a backlog of EHRs on the weekend could all put you on the wrong side of the law. Watch out for these 5 actions that could leave you or your employer facing some […]