It’s Your Call July 2022

OSHA: Our office provides laser treatment. What OSHA specific regulation(s) address laser plume (smoke)?

Currently, OSHA has no specific standards for laser/electrosurgery plume hazards but note that smoke byproduct could produce upper respiratory irritation, cause potential in-vitro mutagenesis, and generate infectious viral fragments. Thus, OSHA could cite under these two regulations:

• 134(a)(1)-Inadequate Personal Protective Equipment
• 1030(d)(3)(i)-Employee exposures to toxic and hazardous substances when laser fumes are contaminated with viable bloodborne pathogens

Employers should train their employees accordingly after assessing the potential exposure and hazardous risks.

HIPAA: True or False? It is acceptable to save passwords in your web browser (e.g., Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari)

A: FALSE! Saving passwords to accounts, especially for accounts that contain PHI or financial information is strongly discouraged. Using a password manager is a much more secure way to generate and store passwords.