OSHA Updates Workplace Violence Guidelines For Healthcare

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has updated its1996 and 2004 guidelines for preventing workplace violence in the healthcare and social services industries. According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Labor, approximately 70% of the 23,000 significant assault injuries that occur each year happen in the healthcare and social services industries. While the number of work-related injuries associated with violence in these industries has declined over the years, reducing it even further remains a top priority for OSHA.

The newly revised guidelines outline new methods for hospitals, doctor's offices, Health and Human Services (HHS) workers, and other healthcare/social service workers to prevent violence in the workplace. You can click on the link previously mentioned to access the complete 60-page document, but it basically aims to educate workers and employers in the healthcare and social services industries on risk factors of violence and how to maintain a safe and secure environment.

Why is violence such a problem for healthcare and social service workers? As noted in the document, it's not uncommon for patients and clients in the aforementioned industries to become violence and lash out at workers or caregivers. A patient who's forced to receive a medical treatment, for instance, may become violence in an effort to escape the healthcare setting. It's not always the patient's decision to make this choice, however, as the hospital or healthcare facility may have this authority.

Some of the factors of workplace violence in healthcare and social services include the following:

• Lack of emergency communication
• Workers being forced to work alone
• Lack of a zero-tolerance policy
• Longer than usual waits for services
• Late night and earning morning work hours
• Transporting patients and clients

"Healthcare and social service workers face significant risks of job-related violence and it is OSHA’s mission to help employers address these serious hazards," wrote OSHA in its new report. "This publication updates OSHA’s 1996 and 2004 voluntary guidelines for preventing workplace violence for healthcare and social service workers OSHA’s violence prevention guidelines are based on industry best practices and feedback from stakeholders, and provide recommendations for developing policies and procedures to eliminate or reduce workplace violence in a range of healthcare and social service settings."

What do you think of OSHA's new guidelines for preventing workplace violence in the healthcare and social services industries? Let us know in the comments section below!