OSHA or Occupational Safety and Health Administration is about the establishment and execution of standards and protocols that help foster healthcare workplace safety and a safe work environment.
Professionals across healthcare services encounter many daily hazards, including exposure to chemicals, inflammables, pathogens, or even instrument dangers. These or other safety hazards get covered through general industry standards that cover multiple possibilities like falls, violence among staff, etc.
The OSHA Act enacted in 1970 calls for companies to implement to administer procedures and policies that safeguard the personnel from potential accidents and infections at the workplace. Healthcare services thus need to ensure that employees are provided with the necessary personal protective equipment while also getting familiarized with workplace safety standards.
These are some requirements that are needed and as workplaces can differ, carrying out an initial as well as an annual assessment can help frame and always implement site-specific policies that safeguard personnel as well as ensure healthcare workplace safety.
Relevance of OSHA Standards
All healthcare professionals including doctors, nurses, staff, and employees with allied roles need to be OSHA certified. Depending on the services offered by the practice or clinic, the staff needs to handle hazards, pathogens, and waste. They need to be protected from exposure to drugs, chemicals, and other respiratory hazards.
The purpose of OSHA is to curtail and control the possibility of injuries, accidents, and illnesses by getting teams trained on potential risks and how to avoid them.
The Need for OSHA Compliance
OSHA compliance has a strong standing for a medical or dental practice as required by law. It is also needed for effectively and successfully running a practice. Some reasons are as follows:
Multiple aspects to be considered
OSHA covers many dimensions of the operational running of a practice.
Sanitization and Equipment
Maintaining sanitization standards is a mandate for both medical and dental practices but there are differences in how the staff need to maintain and store equipment. The standards
for sterilization and equipment hazards, rankings are the same across medical and dental practices.
However, regulations may apply to a dental practice for certain equipment. These could be scalers and mouth X-rays among others.
First Aid Recommendation
First aid training is recommended by OSHA though it is not mandatory. While dental professionals are engaged in cosmetic and hygiene-based care, some medical professionals need to deal with life-threatening situations such as diseases or surgical procedures.
There are multiple differences when it comes to equipment, job responsibilities, and general practice conventions. Hence, first aid and other allied training are useful for all healthcare professionals.
Different Practice Methods
Due to the nature of the practice, both dental and medical professionals are exposed to hazardous materials although the situations of exposure may vary. There are multiple roles and responsibilities within both practices such as lab dentists, surgeons, technicians, office staff, etc. All of them are susceptible to exposure to hazardous waste.
In hospitals, the roles can be clearly distinguished. There are surgeons, machine operators, anesthetists, and nurses, among others while a large dental practice might have dentists, hygienists, and the dental team conducting different tasks and procedures.
These variations in the workplace can lead to a difference in health and safety protocols. The team in a dental practice needs more job-specific scenarios to stay OSHA-compliant.
Conclusion: OSHA Training Frequency
All healthcare professionals must finish OSHA training within ten days of joining the organization or practice. These include doctors, dentists, office staff, nurses as well as part-time employees. Some critical OSHA training standards such as bloodborne pathogens and respiratory protection need to be conducted annually.
Facilitation of OSHA training on the premises by an experienced in-house expert who has been trained on OSHA safety regulations is recommended. A practice can also provide additional resources such as OSHA training consultants or online programs. The practice must maintain a written record of OSHA training sessions.
Numerous safety and health exposures such as pathogens, radiation, and instrument dangers are faced by healthcare professionals. A dental or medical practice must ensure that all members receive specialized OSHA dental compliance training or medical compliance training respectively. Adherence to OSHA compliance protocols and relevant safety conventions will help the practice in the long run.
