News Briefs
Healthcare@Work survey under way
All health care employees are invited to complete the fourth annual Healthcare @Work survey at www.hcatwork.com. The national survey by Aon Consulting’s Loyalty Institute, in partnership with the American Hospital Association’s American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration, is designed to measure health care employee commitment and the organizational practices that drive it.
The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and covers topics such as employees’ perceptions of their jobs and managers and what they think the health care field must do to better recruit and retain health care workers. Preliminary results of the 2003 survey will be presented at the ASHHRA Annual Conference Aug. 17-20 in Denver.
Study: Occ-med clinics save money, time
Using occupational clinics to treat injured workers not only saves money but gets employees back to work faster and provides more patient satisfaction than other medical care methods, an Atlantic Mutual study found. The study was published in a recent edition of National Underwriters Newsweekly, published by The National Underwriter Co. in Erlanger, KY.
The New York City-based insurer said its findings followed a review of 4,200 of its closed claims files for the 10 most common worker injuries over a one-year period. The study examined claims in nine states: Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Atlantic Mutual said it found that claims handled through an occupational clinic were 52% less expensive than those handled either by a general practitioner or the emergency department. Average indemnity costs on lost-time injuries were 49% lower; average medical costs were 29% lower; and the number of lost-time claims fell by 14%.
The clinics in the study were selected by Atlantic Mutual to treat workers. According to the study, the clinics were more effective at treating workers’ injuries because they are geared to this treatment and are able to render therapy and care more quickly than other facilities.
A measure of the quality of care, the company said, is that only 5.1% of claims handled by the occupational clinics went to litigation, and legal costs fell 54%.
For more information, contact The National Underwriter Co. at (800) 543-0874.
Find NIOSH emergency planning tools on the web
A comprehensive plan for dealing with terrorism-related events should include specific instructions to building occupants, actions to be taken by facility management, and first responder notification procedures, says the Cincinnati-based National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). NIOSH has provided links to the following guides to assist in the development of these plans:
• Emergency Management Guide for Business and Industry (FEMA) www.fema.gov/library/bizindex.shtm — Provides information on how to create and maintain a comprehensive emergency management program. It can be used by manufacturers, corporate offices, retailers, utilities, or any organization where a sizable number of people work or gather.
• Critical Incident Protocol (Michigan State University) — www.cj.msu.edu/~outreach/CIP/CIP.pdf — Provides information about the public and private sectors working together to plan for emergencies. Elements include planning, mitigation, business recovery, lessons learned, best practices, and plan exercising.
• OSHA Evacuation Plans and Procedures eTool —www.osha.gov — Guidance for retail businesses on implementing an emergency action plan. Also includes information on workplace evaluation, education, and training.
• Small Business Disaster Planning Guide (Small Business Association/Institute for Business & Home Safety) — www.ibhs.org/docs/openforbusiness.pdf — Disaster planning toolkit that enables small businesses to identify hazards, as well as plan for and reduce the impact of disasters. Also provides advice on insurance, disaster supplies, and other items that make a small business more disaster-resistant.
• Developing a Preparedness Plan and Conducting Emergency Evacuation Drills (National Fire Protection Association) — www.nfpa.org/Research/nfpafactsheets/emergency/emergency.asp — Fact Sheet provides information about developing an emergency action plan, including fire prevention plans.
• Model Shelter-in-Place Plan for Businesses (National Institute for Chemical Studies) www.nics.org — Provides information about establishing a shelter-in-place program for your office building.
• Business and Industry Preparedness Guide (American Red Cross) — www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/busi_industry.html# fema — Guidance about planning for disasters, reducing potential damage, and protecting employees, customers and business.
For more information, visit: www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/prepared/.
CDC mails smallpox info packets to U.S. clinicians
In an unprecedented effort, the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has begun mailing smallpox information packets to 3.5 million clinicians nationwide as part of the agency’s established plan to educate medical professionals about smallpox and the smallpox vaccine.
"Ensuring clinicians have accurate information about smallpox is critical as we continue to work to enhance our nation’s preparedness for a possible terrorism attack," says CDC director Julie Gerberding, MD. "This mailing is unprecedented, and the information in these packets is a valuable resource to those health care providers on the front lines who would be the first ones to recognize smallpox cases."
The packet includes up to date information that will help clinicians identify a case of smallpox, recognize and manage patients with an adverse reaction to the vaccine, and help others make decisions about receiving the vaccine. The packet contains:
- Evaluating Patients for Smallpox: A poster with color pictures to assist clinicians assess patients who present with rash illnesses.
- Smallpox Vaccination Methods and Reactions: A pocket guide with color pictures and information about smallpox vaccination, responses to vaccination, and adverse reactions.
- Vaccine Information Statement: A three-page document being used in vaccination clinics across the country with information about who should get vaccinated, associated risks, and information regarding adverse reactions.
Included in the mailing is an invitation for clinicians to join a registry. The registry will provide real-time information to help health care professionals prepare for possible terrorism events. Clinicians who choose to register will receive regular e-mail updates on terrorism preparedness issues as well as training opportunities.
The CDC is reaching health care providers through a variety of formats. In October 2002, the agency introduced comprehensive, web-based training to assist clinicians in monitoring and treating adverse reactions following vaccination. In January 2003, CDC published updated clinical guidance (Smallpox Vaccination and Adverse Reactions: Guidance for Clinicians, MMWR,52, RR04) and released a corresponding teaching tool to assist clinician specialists in training other clinicians in their communities. A satellite-training course of this material (Clinical Management of Adverse Events following Smallpox Vaccination: A National Training Initiative, Feb. 4, 2003) was broadcast live and continues to be available through web streaming or videotape.
Information about the CDC’s training tools for clinicians can be found at www.cdc.gov/smallpox. Additional information about smallpox can be found on the web sites of both the Department of Health and Human Services (www.hhs.gov) and CDC.
CDC offers vaccine monitoring system
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has released a Hospital Smallpox Vaccination Monitoring System intended to help hospitals monitor and track workers who receive the smallpox vaccine.
The web-based application is a component of the CDC Smallpox Vaccination Program being offered as a free service to hospitals. It is designed to capture data such as symptoms reported by vaccine recipients, fitness for duty and workdays lost, and to produce summary and overview reports of the hospital’s experience.
More information, including how to enroll in the voluntary program, is available at www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/vaccination/hsvms/.
CDC alerts clinicians to atypical pneumonia
The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an alert to U.S. hospitals and health authorities in response to reports of a rapidly spreading atypical pneumonia that as of March 15 had infected more than 150 people in other countries and had been associated with four deaths. More than 90% of the cases have occurred in health care workers.
No cases have been identified in the United States. The CDC issued the alert after learning of several cases of the so-called severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Canada among travelers recently returned from Southeast Asia and their family members. Also on March 15, a health care worker from Singapore, who was ill after having recent close contact in Singapore with a reported case of SARS, was transferred to an isolation unit in Frankfurt, Germany after boarding a flight from New York.
Between Feb. 26 and March 15, the World Health Organization (WHO) has received reports of cases from Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. WHO is defining a case as someone with a fever higher than 100.4° F, respiratory symptoms such as a cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, and either close contact with someone who’s been diagnosed with the syndrome or recent travel to areas reporting cases of the syndrome.
The CDC said clinicians should notify infection control personnel immediately if such a patient is admitted to the hospital. It said infection control measures should include airborne and contact precautions and the use of standard hand hygiene and eye protection for all patient contact.
CDC currently is not recommending any specific treatment for the syndrome because its cause has not yet been determined and is being investigated. It said health care providers and public health personnel should report cases of the syndrome to their state or local health departments. Information updates will be posted at www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/.
Healthcare@Work survey under way; Study: Occ-med clinics save money, time; Find NIOSH emergency planning tools on the web; CDC mails smallpox info packets to U.S. clinicians; CDC offers vaccine monitoring system; CDC alerts clinicians to atypical pneumonia.Subscribe Now for Access
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