OSHA, HIPAA, COVID---ARE YOU REALLY READY?

OSHA, HIPAA, COVID---ARE YOU REALLY READY?

5/18/2021 8:30:53 AM   |   Comments: 0   |   Views: 135

 You don’t have to fall victim to these new age COVID Compliance Requirements, if you simply connect a few more imperative dots… 

The ADA did a great job to provide it’s ADA Tool Kit that laid the ground rules for: which PPE to wear, how to set up social distancing, patients & employee screening & new Covid Infection Control Protocols.  

But did you reckon that you had to have this all-- in written format?  Yes, the first thing that an OSHA or Health Department Inspector will ask for, these days, will be your required back-to-work written COVID Preparedness Plan.  You can design this yourself by using the government issued document OSHA 3990.  This will provide you the framework, but be prepared to invest 80-120 hours to ensure you have all of the required OSHA 3990 protocols, customized to your dental setting.  Yikes! 

If you’re not up for that challenge, try a more reasonable-to-navigate, templated Pandemic Preparedness Plan that will allow you to “check-the-boxes” or “fill-in-the-blanks” to design your own written COVID Preparedness Plan.

Another consideration is the evolution of COVID-Management.  As time marches on, our PPE, employee & patient screening, vaccination & infection control practices will evolve.  As OSHA Coaches, we seem to get common questions, that we deem the “topic-of-the-week” as these laws change.  Most current, are questions about Employee Vaccinations.  Your patients may have already called your office, to inquire: 

“Are all of your employees vaccinated?”

“I only want to see your vaccinated hygienists!”   

And vaccinated employees may be under the misconception that they can stop wearing COVID-inspired PPE.  Some of these law changes emerge with clarity, while others remain murky and need to be researched or logically readapted into your office policies. 

So what’s a Dental Practice Owner to do?  The most prudent and practical answer is to stay current and learned on the evolution of these COVID-Compliance laws.  While that may be easier-said-than-done, these days, aligning with a trusted, Compliance Expert may be the healthiest path to ensure that your office stays committed to changing all compliance liabilities into practice assets

Want a COVID-Compliance Checklist?:  To ensure that your team has comprehensively set your COVID-Compliance Protocols into play, make sure you can answer “yes”  to all of these components that Compliance Officers will require to see in writing: 

                                                                
  • Proof of COVID-Management Employee Training
  •                                                             
  • Proof of Annual OSHA Training 
  •                                                             
  • Written Pandemic Preparedness Plan
  •                                                             
  • Employee Occupational Hazard Forms— written to the new COVID Standards
  •                                                             
  • Respirator Voluntary Disclaimer Form (clinical employees only)

COVID has brought massive changes to OSHA & HIPAA Practices! Are your written protocols in order?  Don’t stay stuck!  Knowledge is power!   

First steps?   Consider a private Discovery Meeting to review your current OSHA & HIPAA status.  If you’d like a private, confidential evaluation, our Compliance Coaches at Dental Enhancements, Inc. — are willing to help you get “in-the-know” so you can be ready, safe & confident —during any OSHA or Health Department visit. 

FOR A PRIVATE DISCOVERY MEETING OF YOUR OSHA & HIPAA STATUS,

CALL DENTAL ENHANCEMENTS, INC.: 941-587-2864

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