Who would have ever thought that those little, red fire extinguishers, mounted on walls in picture framed boxes, could be deadly? A fire extinguisher is a pressurized vessel that, like any compressed gas, can turn into an exploding bomb due to unsafe storage or handling. No matter how large or small the cylinder, compressed gases […]
When the new president took office in January 2017 these changes to the recordkeeping regulations were stopped. OSHA just announced that part of these regulations will now go into effect in December. Employers who, under the past rules, had to post a copy in their office of their OSHA 300A report (Summary of Work-Related Injuries […]
Congress passed a new set of laws on emergency preparedness and active shooter protocol that will go into effect on 11/15/2017. These laws are part of Medicare/Medicaid. The rule addresses concerns regarding the ability of healthcare facilities to plan and execute appropriate emergency response procedures for disasters, both manmade (e.g. terrorism, shooters) and natural (e.g. […]
By Karen L. Murphy, RDH, MAOM It’s sad but true. The lonely eyewash station often goes unnoticed, unappreciated and unwanted. In fact, you may even have wondered at some point if your practice really needs one. Medical and dental offices are laced with chemicals, airborne particles, fumes, dust and infectious materials. We fearlessly rely on […]
The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) is raising the alarm about antibiotics prescribed by dentists and a possible connection to rising cases of Clostridium difficile. Researchers from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) conducted a study and found that 15% of the patients diagnosed with community-associated C difficile infection (CA CDI) between […]
Goes from Paper to Mobile in Less than 90 Days with an Automated Auditing Process Total Medical Compliance (TMC) provides compliance consulting to the healthcare marketplace including HIPAA training, OSHA training, and Infection Control programs for medical and dental practices. When TMC needed a partner to upgrade its paper-based auditing processes and provide an […]
How to handle in-office laundry seems to be a quandary of many medical/dental facilities. Some confusion comes from the array of adjectives used to describe items that need to be laundered: Is it dirty? Soiled? Contaminated? How laundry is defined will dictate how it can be safely handled for laundering. It’s important to know how […]
July 6, 2017 (ATLANTA, GA) — The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP), a community of clinicians, educators, consultants, researchers and industry representatives who advocate for safe and infection-free delivery of oral healthcare, has announced the members of the 2017-2018 OSAP Board of Directors and the 2017-2018 OSAP Foundation Board of Directors. The new […]
The prevalence of bloodborne pathogen exposure events in healthcare remains a huge concern as emphasized by the annual reports of sharps related injuries in health care from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The topic is reviewed in our trainings, officer webinars and inserted in the TMC OSHA manuals. An effective Exposure Control Plan […]
(Updated June 2019) Emergency Action Plan (EAP): Evacuation Maps. You see them, but do you need them? OSHA does not require facilities to have a printed map for evacuation in the case of an emergency; but other governmental agencies may. Check with your insurance carrier, fire marshal and state and local agencies that may require […]
