Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act

running from needle syringe

Many busy healthcare providers know how important it is to prevent needlesticks, but they will draw a blank when asked to explain the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act of 2000. Why do we have to follow it? Just like the requirement to wear a seat belt when you drive, following the Needlestick Safety and Prevention […]

Dental Unit Waterline Quality Testing Services

dental chairs water lines

Waterlines used in any dental unit that has a water supply, such as syringes and ultrasonic scalers, can become contaminated with biofilm, a coating of microorganisms. To prevent infection, the CDC recommends that dental unit water used in non-surgical procedures is maintained at the same cleanliness standard set for drinking water by the Environmental Protection […]

ADA Publishes Statement on Opioid Use

opioid epidemic

CNN reports that the United States is in the throes of an opioid epidemic. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, about 11.5 million Americans age 12 and older misused prescription pain medicine in 2016. The International Narcotics Control Board reported that in 2015, Americans represented about 99.7% of the world’s hydrocodone […]

Compressed Gases: Safe Storage and Handling

compressed gases safe storage and handling

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 […]

OSHA Announced Changes to the Recordkeeping Regulations in 2016

changes to the recordkeeping regulations

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 […]

The Emergency Preparedness Act and Active Shooter Protocol

Congress passed a new set of laws on emergency preparedness and active shooter protocol that will go into effect on 11/15/2017.

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. […]

The Lonely Eyewash Station

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 […]

Dental Antibiotics and C diff

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 […]

TMC Automates OSHA Compliance Audits with Mi-Platform

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 […]

In-Office Laundry Management

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 […]