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Published in the February 22, 2019 Federal Register, EPA’s long-awaited final rule to manage hazardous waste pharmaceuticals generated by healthcare facilities (including hospitals, clinics, and retail stores with pharmacies) and reverse distributors will go into effect August 21, 2019 in EPA territories and in states that do not have an authorized Resource Conservation and Recovery […]
An American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) panel began work on developing standards for the safe handling of hazardous drugs. The expert panel endorsed three sets of existing guidelines and standards. However, it also identified issues it felt existing standards did not adequately address.
In mid-November 2018, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) introduced legislation that would set a deadline for OSHA to issue the first national standard requiring that healthcare and social service employers develop and implement a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce; the legislation has 22 […]
As have other organizations that advocate for healthcare workers, the Joint Commission is strongly urging healthcare organizations to take a comprehensive look at the occurrence of violence against their employees and take steps toward implementing protections that “look beyond solutions that only increase scrutiny.”
California health care employers will soon have a new regulation to comply with. On December 8, the state’s Office of Administrative Law approved new Section 3342 of the General Industry Safety Orders, Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care. The standard takes effect on April 1, 2017.