Physician Office Policies
Q: We manage some physician offices and also have some hospital owned physician offices. My questions are: 1. Should there be any difference in their Infection Control, Employee Health, etc., policies? 2. Should the office policies be the same as the hospital policies (which is how we currently do it, but I question if it is correct procedure)? 3. Are there any references available to assist with developing physician office Infection Control, Employee Health, etc., policies?
A: In regard to your questions about physician offices, there are differences that may warrant some variations in the policies between the hospital and ambulatory care facilities. One aspect is with regard to TB transmission, as most outpatient facilities do not have isolation rooms. Another important area is arranging for follow-up lab testing in case of an employee bloodborne pathogen exposure. Maintaining employee confidentiality when the physician is both the employer and the medical care provider treating the employee can be tricky. Other areas, such as providing and documenting training, won't have many differences.
Physician office specific policy and procedure for employee safety is available from Quality America in the form of a pre-written manual that each facility customizes by filling in the "blanks" provided with information about that particular facility, such as locations of restricted access areas, eyewash stations, staff duties, meeting location after evacuation and the like. Quantity discounts are available.
Quality America also offers training products, if you are personally managing training for several locations I would recommend the Online Training Center since it offers great administrator features (to make your life easier!) and a competitive cost per student. The demo course, also available through the above link, illustrates the ease of use for your employees and outlines the administrative strengths of the training program. DVD training is available too, if each facility will be taking care of their own training in-house.
Posted by Quality America on March 27, 2007 | Comments (0)
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