A security flaw in LabCorp’s website exposed thousands of medical documents, like test results containing sensitive health data. It’s the second incident in the past year after LabCorp said in June that 7.7 million patients had been affected by a credit card data breach of a third-party payments processor. That breach also hit several other laboratory testing companies, including Quest Diagnostics. This latest security lapse was caused by a vulnerability on a part of LabCorp’s […]
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If you were to imagine a list of risky jobs, you might think of being a construction worker, a prison officer, an oil rig worker – anything that involves heights or challenging environments. Being a surgeon might not be top of the list. However, new research shows that in fact an overwhelming majority of surgeons have had a close encounter with a serious risk to their health and safety: a sharp, or needlestick injury. The […]
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We all know that doctors and nurses work long hours under trying conditions, particularly in hospital emergency rooms, to save lives and bring healing and comfort to the sick. What too many people do not know is that healthcare workers face a potential silent killer every day that is so common it is routinely overlooked and ignored: accidental needlesticks. Every year in the United States, more than 400 million blood draws are performed. Some of […]
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Healthcare workers face unique occupational hazards. In what other field can an employee so readily experience burnout, chemical exposure, and sharps injuries that introduce pathogens to the body? Now, a new study has further bolstered the list of healthcare workers’ concerns, suggesting that medical waste handlers are at increased risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Recently published in the American Journal of Infection Control, the meta-analysis of 9 cross-sectional studies found that although just […]
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As the decade winds down, it’s hard to believe that the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules are almost twenty years old. It has been ten years since the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published the first breach notification rule – the one based on the harm standard. And the Omnibus Rule’s “low probability of compromise” standard is almost seven years old! Regulators and regulated entities are heading […]
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Recently, the House of Representatives passed a bill, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Healthcare and Social Service Workers Act. This bill, as the name suggests, seeks to provide legal protections to health care workers from workplace violence. The passing of this bill did not create much fanfare; we did not see any coverage of it on the evening news, nor was it mentioned by any of the presidential candidates. We are here to tell you […]
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Is your facility in compliance with new EPA rules regarding disposal of pharmaceuticals? In August 2019, new regulations from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) went into effect regarding the safe disposal of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. In an effort to curb accidental poisonings or misuse and abuse of certain high-risk medications, staff are no longer allowed to flush these items away — a practice referred to […]
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ORLANDO, FLORIDA—A nationwide effort to improve and coordinate patient safety measures will strive to make a connection between workplace and patient safety. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) gave an update during its National Forum this week on the creation of a national patient safety plan intended to encourage better coordination of safety efforts. A key goal of the plan, expected to be released next year, was to emphasize the role of improving workforce […]
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EDITORS’ NOTE: The reviews presented in this article are Dr. Schuman’s and do not represent those of Contemporary Pediatrics or the editors. It’s been an outstanding year for medical innovation—in fact, one of the best I can recall. If you want to improve the capabilities of your “high-tech office,” consider the following gadgets and gizmos that are sure to impress. 1. New stethoscopes from Ekohealth No doubt you’ve seen advertisements from an innovative company […]
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HIPAA compliance services are an extremely profitable value-add you can provide to your customer base. There are millions of American companies that don’t realize they have a HIPAA compliance problem. They’re not doctor’s offices or medical labs or hospitals or insurance companies, so many falsely believe HIPAA doesn’t apply to them. HIPAA, after all, is shorthand for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, so if your core business isn’t delivering […]
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