Amid a rise in healthcare worker injuries and illnesses, the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is urging facilities and providers in the industry to employ effective safety and health programs. OSHA made the plea in a news release Feb. 8, about a week ahead of National Caregivers Day on Feb. 18. U.S. healthcare workers saw a 249 percent increase in injury and illness rates in 2020 compared to the year before, and workers in the […]

Amid the pandemic, U.S. healthcare workers experienced a 249% increase in injury and illness rates in 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, workers in the healthcare and social assistance industries combined suffered more injuries and illnesses than workers in any industry in the nation. Risk management in healthcare facilities As National Caregivers Day falls on February 18, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) calls on healthcare […]

The first two parts of this series on HIPAA in 2022 examined regulatory updates related to interoperability and OpenNote, and privacy, patient rights and security. That’s a lot to get your arms around during these challenging times. You may feel overwhelmed and ask yourself how to keep up-to-date on all of this year’s changes, and how to start to ensure that my practice is in full HIPAA compliance? This is perfectly understandable! Here are five […]

Every healthcare organization knows about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). It’s part of daily life for those working in a healthcare setting, and it can be — from a cybersecurity perspective — a difficult set of regulations to navigate. HIPAA violations can result in a minimum fine of $50,000, not to mention the reputation cost as well as time and money spent if that HIPAA violation results in a data breach. With […]

As the healthcare industry enters the pandemic’s third year, many leaders are working to reinvigorate staff and patient safety efforts. Below are five of the most pressing safety issues for hospitals and health systems to address in 2022, based on expert insights, research findings and trends reported in the past year. 1. Foundational safety work. First and foremost, healthcare organizations must ensure they have a strong foundation to refine safety efforts and sustain improvements, according […]

Newly totaled data from 2021 shows Washington healthcare workers filed a record number of workplace safety complaint forms, an increase touted by healthcare worker unions as reason for safe-staffing standards legislation. Members of UFCW 21, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and the Washington State Nurses Association filed 8,649 safety complaint forms in 2021 – the total number of forms submitted between workers of all three unions in 2019 was 2,865. These forms detail staffing complaints and violations, […]

Entira Family Clinics, a family medicine practice based in Minnesota, sent data breach notification letters to impacted individuals via the Maine Attorney General’s Office on January 13, 2022. The Maine Attorney General’s Office said that the breach impacted nearly 200,000 individuals associated with the family medicine practice. In the letter, Entira wrote that it had “recently discovered” a data breach that occurred within Netgain Technology, a cloud hosting provider. However, Netgain discovered the breach in […]

Healthcare providers and administrators want more training and resources on waste management, a new survey has found. The survey was conducted by Stericycle, a provider of medical waste management, reaching 500 healthcare workers, 350 of whom are clinicians and 150 of whom are administrators. The findings were put into Stericycle’s first report on healthcare workplace safety. More than half of providers and administrators feel their organization should spend more labor and funds on biohazardous waste […]

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 […]