OSHA Online Safety Compliance Training & Certification
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requires that all employers have all workers that face hazards in their jobs to receive safety training as a method of protection. The types of courses and information offered is dependent upon the type of industry. Training courses are offered by several approved organizations such as Healthcare Waste Management, and are designed to educate, inform, and assist in protecting staff workers from potential accidents that could be harmful. The training is designed to also offer workers an understanding of their rights and the appropriate actions needed in case of an accident or breach. These are all-encompassing courses to give as much information as possible to all that are involved in potential at risk jobs.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that in 2019 there were 2.8 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses in the workplace, with 575,000 in the healthcare and social assistance industry. While this is a slight reduction from 2018, the goal of OSHA is to try to assist employers to reduce these incidences even further.
Online safety compliance training and certification is a beneficial tool to accomplish educational expansion for workers. The ability to access the training during a convenient schedule, start and stop when needed, and receive a certification when the training is completed encourages a higher level of attendance. The requirement of training prior to hiring completion allows staff members to contribute to the workplace more quickly. This is especially important in many industries such as healthcare, that have a high need for qualified employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Certification
Compliance of all local, state, and federal laws and guidelines is a requirement by every organization. The OSHA online safety compliance training and certification helps to ensure that staff members are knowledgeable of the hazards that they may be exposed to and the appropriate actions, behavior, and personal protection equipment required to keep them from injuries as well as following the laws.
Compliance training and certification does not excuse any organization from the removal of guilt of lack of compliance. In the situation where there is a viable case for lack of compliance, training and certification may act to demonstrate serious commitment to compliance efforts and could reduce punishment/fines.
Three Medical/Healthcare Online Training & Certifications
The medical community has some of the most stringent requirements for the safety of the workers, patients, community, and the environment. The educational and training guidelines incorporate everything from protecting against transmittable diseases to ensuring that patient data is kept private. It is an industry that is forever changing and improving, and it therefore requires that all that work in the medical community receive constant updates on the new laws and/or data. The guidelines dictate that all workers receive training and certification on an annual basis and/or when their job changes that places them in an at-risk category. Each online training and certification program is detailed to include information that acts to protect individuals and the compliance of the laws.
Bloodborne Pathogens Training
Transmission of potentially dangerous diseases through exposure to bloodborne pathogens continues to be a problem worldwide. Many healthcare workers are around such diseases as HBV (Hepatitis B) and HIV that can be transmitted through contact with blood as well as diseases from OPIM (other potentially infectious materials). Training all staff is critical to help to ensure accident prevention as well as actions to take in case of exposure. Online training and certification courses that are OSHA-approved assist in meeting the OSHA requirements and regulations required under both the OSHA Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act and 29 CFR §1910.1030(g)(2).
While a majority of those that take the bloodborne pathogens training courses are in the medical and healthcare industry, there are other industries that also risk exposure to blood and OPIM that can include but are not limited to: funeral parlor staff, dentists, pharmacists, tattoo parlors, body piercing shops, and coroner’s offices. Bloodborne pathogen training is a requirement for all workers that could have “occupational exposure” to OPIM or blood. Occupational exposure is listed by OSHA as “reasonably anticipated skin, eye, mucous membrane, or parenteral contact with blood or OPIM that may result from the performance of the employee’s duties.”
A bloodborne pathogen training and certification program such as Healthcare Waste Management covers in detail:
Bloodborne pathogens diseases, such as HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV); symptoms, stages, and treatments.
Occupations that are at risk for bloodborne pathogen exposure.
Employee and Employer Rights and Responsibilities including: Training, communicating hazards and labeling, Exposure Control Plans and their Elements, Housekeeping, Record Keeping, and Sharps Injury Log.
Bloodborne pathogens precautions, guidelines, and controls including: Universal precautions, Engineering and work practice controls, General Safety Practice Review, Needless Systems and engineered sharp protection, PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) types, availability, removal, and laundering standards.
Bloodborne pathogen exposure occurrence including incident procedures and evaluation at post-exposure.
Medical and dental offices represent some of the largest range of potential health hazards to patients, staff, and the environment. The OSHA online training and certification courses are designed to address OSHA regulations for:
OSHA 29 CFR §1910.1030 Bloodborne Pathogens
OSHA 29 CFR §1910.1200 Hazard Communication
OSHA 29 CFR §1910.1096 Ionizing Radiation
OSHA 29 CFR §1910 Subpart E Means of Egress
OSHA 29 CFR §1910 Subpart L Fire Protection
OSHA 29 CFR §1910 Subpart L Fire Protection
All employees in medical offices and dental offices with two or more employees/staff are required to take OSHA training. Potential exposure to various disease states covers a gamut of topics that include but are not limited to:
Needlestick Safety and Prevention (bloodborne pathogens)
Worker Right to know (aka: Hazard communication)
Ionizing radiation
Exit routes.
Electrical standards
A good online dental and medical office hazards training and certification program such as Healthcare Waste Management covers in detail:
Bloodborne pathogens diseases, such as HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV); symptoms, stages, and treatments.
Occupations that are at risk for bloodborne pathogen exposure.
Employee and Employer Rights and Responsibilities including: Training, communicating hazards and labeling, Exposure Control Plans and their Elements, Housekeeping, Record Keeping, and Sharps Injury Log.
Bloodborne pathogens precautions, guidelines, and controls including: Universal precautions, Engineering and work practice controls, General Safety Practice Review, Needless Systems and engineered sharp protection, PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) types, availability, removal and laundering standards.
Procedures for exposure and post-exposure evaluation
Hazard Communication: key terms, explanation of the standard and its importance, Major standard changes, Employee and employer responsibilities and employee training.
Chemical hazards: entry routes, health hazard recognition, chemical hazard health effects, health effects of chemical agents.
Written Hazard Communication Program: requirements, hazard inventory, classification, and classes; labels, HMIS and NFPA labeling systems definitions and descriptions, Safety data sheets, Exposure controls: substitution and elimination, engineering and work practice controls, and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).
EPCRA (Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act: Emergency Planning and emergency release notification, annual inventory, toxics release inventory, EPCRA inspections.
Ionizing Radiation Standard Safety Training explained: key terms, Regulatory agencies/institutions; Ionizing versus non-ionizing radiation, ionizing radiation types, Alpha and Beta particles, Neutron radiation, Gamma rays and x-rays.
Ionizing Radiation Exposure: Radiation sources, natural and man-made radiation, NORM, TENORM, exposure pathways, internal exposure routes, chronic and acute exposure, health effects of exposure including cancer and genetic mutation.
Health and Safety Practices and Program: Employer and employee responsibilities, employee training, record keeping, radiation emergencies, caution labels and signs, exceptions for caution labels and signs, Immediate evacuation warning signal as well as signal design parameters; incident notifications.
OSHA Standards for Exit Routes and Fire Protection: key terms, history and background, applicable statistics, general responsibilities, responsibilities for alarm systems fire brigades, and PPE; governing authorities for applicable regulations for exit routes and fire protection including OSHA 29 CFR 1910 Subparts E and L.
Construction and design of exit routes: definition of adequate exits, exit discharge and exit door rules, regulations for exit, exit routes outdoors.
Fire Hazard types: maintenance, safeguards, and exit route operational features.
Fire Risk Mitigation and Safe Work Practices: Portable fire suppression fire extinguishers and standpipe/hose systems; Fixed fire suppression: automatic sprinklers, fixed extinguishing systems, fire detection systems, employee alarm systems.
Controls: Plans for emergency action and fire prevention, training.
OSHA Electrical Standard Training: key terms, statistics on injuries and fatalities; responsibilities and roles.
Electrical System Design Safety Standards: Equipment examination and installation, electrical connections, arcing parts, markings and device disconnects; design safety standards for equipment operating at 600 volts or less, guarding live parts 600 volts or less, design safety standards for equipment at over 600 volts, indoor installations over 600 volts, space around electrical equipment of over 600 volts; entrances, working space and illumination over 600 volts, wiring protection and design, branch circuits and receptacles, testing equipment grounding conductors, outlet devices and receptacle outlets, outside conductors of 600 volts or less, clearances, services, overcurrent protection, grounding, methods of fixed equipment grounding; wiring components, methods and general use equipment, temporary wiring; boxes, cabinets and fittings, switches, general wiring conductors, fixture wires, attachment appliances and plugs; controllers, motor circuits, and motors; capacitors and transformers; specialized purpose equipment, systems, and locations; hazardous location classification, classifications, electrical installations, techniques for protection.
Safety-related Work Practices: OSHA Electrical Standard work, content of training, general work practices, Exposed De-energized parts work practices, working near or on overhead lines, illumination and work in enclosed or confined spaces; conductive equipment, apparel and materials; use of equipment work practices, portable electrical equipment, electrical lighting and power circuits, PPE use, techniques for alerting.
HIPAA Training
HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and was designed as a mandate to implement security and protection features for anyone or any organization that has access to private patient medical information. The guidelines established for phi (protected healthcare information) include everything that is required by Health and Human Services (HHS) and are enforced by OCR (Office for Civil Rights). The training and certification enable an organization to be compliance with all HIPAA Privacy Rules HIPAA Security Rules, HIPAA HITECH and HIPAA Omnibus Rules.
A good HIPAA training and certification course such as the one given by Healthcare Waste Management should include:
Introduction and course objectives: key terms, regulations, what are “covered entities,”
explanation of why employers, employees and business associates should be informed about proper disposal of PHI (protected healthcare information).
Regulations for PHI disposal: The HITECH Act, Covered entities categories, risk of assumptions based on misleading information/definitions, what the HIPAA Rules don’t specify, training requirements.
Identifying PHI: What are the personal identifiers and what qualifies as a PHI? PHI types: paper/tangible objects, electronic media and verbal PHI.
Proper Disposal Guidelines for PHI: Storage, disposal of paper, tangible objects, electronic media with PHI; best practices for PHI and ePHI materials, what to consider when hiring an information destruction specialist.
Consequences for non-compliance of proper PHI Disposal: Civil and criminal penalties.
Developing a HIPAA Compliance Plan for Compliance: Compare/evaluate your circumstances, develop a plan for proper PHI disposal, Implement the plan; have the plan documented.
Compliance of all the various laws and rules requires being aware of, preparing for, training and documenting. It also means that any organization must stay on top of all updates and changes. Rather than taking on an almost overwhelming task for compliance, it makes sense to hire a licensed, trained, and professional organization such as Healthcare Waste Management that offers efficient and approved online training and certification programs for all workers.
