It’s Your Call June 2017

OSHA: HOT items

Are there any hot surfaces or pieces of equipment in your office? If so, how do you warn employees of the potential hazard?

The OSHA regulation 1910.145(d)(4) states:

Caution signs should have the standard, yellow, background color; and the panel, black with yellow letters. Any letters used against the yellow background shall be black. The colors shall be those of opaque glossy samples as specified in Table 1 of ANSI Z53.1-1967 or Table 1 of ANSI Z535.1-2006(R2011), incorporated by reference in § 1910.6.

Offices could use this sign on sterilizers, glass bead mirror warmers in Otolaryngology, and hydrocollators that are used in physical therapy.  When properly posted with a clear message, it could prevent workplace injury, employee disputes, and possibly OSHA fines.

HIPAA: Patient Access to Records

Are your patients allowed to access all of their medical records? How does your policy compare to HIPAA regulations?

Patients do have a right to access their entire medical record. This includes billing records, payment and claims, laboratory reports, records from other healthcare providers or covered entities, archived records that are stored remotely, and other records that are used, in whole or in part, by or for the covered entity to make decisions about the patient.  Once requested, the records must be provided as soon as possible, but no later than 30 days, unless state law imposes a shorter time frame. A reasonable cost based fee may be charged based on the type of request.

Individual access to protected health information may be denied in very limited circumstances such as access to psychotherapy notes or information compiled in anticipation of or for use in a legal proceeding. More information about individual rights to access can be found here.