A Detroit man who is being sued by authorities for stockpiling medical and laboratory waste in rental storage units apologized when contacted by phone this week, saying he was overwhelmed by the business he started. “I didn’t do any of what I did maliciously. I was just trying to make some money,” said Raoul Mangrum Jr., who, as owner of Biochem Technical Services LLC, allegedly violated state waste disposal laws in a manner that drew […]
Read More
COVID-19 created great upheaval throughout the economy and the legal compliance world as well. The pandemic has been a great disruptor and has brought rules, regulations and related agency guidance that have served to overwhelm even the most conscientious and attentive employer. The welcomed arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, and now the perhaps less welcome OSHA vaccine mandate, simply add to an employer’s compliance burden. While OSHA is busy attempting to implement its vaccine/testing mandate, it […]
Read More
The Fifth Circuit Court shot down the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard back in November, and many people thought it was never to return. But, the Sixth Circuit court brought it back last Friday, and OSHA declared it would begin enforcement on January 10, 2022. Any business that fails to comply with Biden vaccine mandate, which affects companies with at least 100 employees, may face fines. For a serious violation, a fine […]
Read More
New York-based Huntington Hospital began notifying 13,000 patients of a data breach that exposed protected health information (PHI) and resulted in a former employee being charged with a HIPAA violation. Huntington Hospital discovered on February 25, 2019, that a night shift employee was improperly accessing electronic medical records without role-based authorization. Further investigation revealed that the employee accessed PHI continually from October 2018 to February 2019. The hospital immediately suspended the employee, and he was […]
Read More
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all areas of life. People, organizations, and governments have tried to adapt behavior to stay safe and minimize the risk of infection. One particular area of focus has been protection — most commonly via the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face masks and gloves. When people use PPE correctly, they can reduce their risk for severe illness or injury. However, it is also critical to consider how […]
Read More
California will join 12 district attorneys in suing Walmart, alleging the retail giant has repeatedly violated state laws against hazardous waste disposal over the past six years. In a press conference Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) accused the company of disposing of materials such as lithium and alkaline batteries, LED lightbulbs and pesticides in disposal sites that are not equipped for them. “We’re not talking about a few batteries. … Walmart’s own audits […]
Read More
As we’ve all paid a lot more attention to avoiding illness the past couple of years, we’ve also had to think about some new kinds of waste. We’re figuring out how to recycle disposable masks and properly dispose of cloth masks to avoid PPE pollution. We worry whether all those little plastic bottles of hand sanitizer will end up polluting the ocean and if cloth masks expose us to toxins. It’s almost enough to make […]
Read More
The industry is rarely mentioned among the chief planet polluters — and companies are intensifying their sustainability efforts to make sure it stays that way. In August, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a body of scientists convened by the United Nations, issued a long-anticipated report. You probably heard about it: Based on more than 14,000 studies and approved by the government of every U.N. member nation, the IPCC report is the most comprehensive […]
Read More
Patients who accessed mental health services in the last year are concerned about the security of those sessions and the safety of their sensitive personal information, according to a recent survey by healthcare technology vendor DrFirst. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Health and Human Services relaxed enforcement of telehealth use on platforms not typically allowed under The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The measure fueled use of telehealth, and […]
Read More
No health care worker is immune from the dangers of handling sharps. Physicians hold a rate just under that of nurses, mostly related to use of scalpels, but are less likely to report these injuries. Occupational risk of sharps injuries transcends health care from local and community settings to a global stage. Although often preventable, sharps injuries occur in high-income countries at an alarming rate, and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with higher endemic rates […]
Read More
