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OSHA and HIPAA Regulations in the Workplace

OSHA Regulations:

• Employers must follow all relevant OSHA safety and health standards to provide a safe workplace.
• Employers must find and correct safety and health hazards and inform employees about chemical hazards through training and other methods.
• Employers must notify OSHA within 8 hours of a workplace fatality or within 24 hours of any work-related inpatient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye.
• Employers must provide required personal protective equipment at no cost to workers and keep accurate records of work-related injuries and illnesses.
• Employees have the right to working conditions that do not pose a risk of serious harm and receive information and training about hazards and OSHA standards.
• Employees can file a complaint asking OSHA to inspect their workplace if they believe there is a serious hazard or that their employer is not following OSHA rules.
• Inspections are initiated without advance notice and based on priorities such as imminent danger, worker complaints, and referrals.
• When an inspector finds violations of OSHA standards or serious hazards, OSHA may issue citations and fines.
• OSHA offers free confidential advice, compliance assistance, and cooperative programs to help prevent fatalities, injuries, and illnesses in the workplace.
• OSHA Training Institute provides occupational safety and health training to private sector workers, supervisors, and employers.
• OSHA has a variety of educational materials and electronic tools available on its website to explain OSHA standards, job hazards, and mitigation strategies.

HIPAA Regulations:

• HIPAA is a federal legislation first passed in 1996 that aims to make it easier for people to keep health insurance, protect the security and confidentiality of private healthcare information, and help the healthcare industry control administrative costs.
• HIPAA is comprised of five titles, with Title II dealing mainly with administrative simplification, establishing standards for receiving, transmitting, and storing healthcare information to ensure the privacy and security of personal identifiable information.
• HIPAA protects PHI, or protected health information, which is an individual’s health information and/or demographic information, including names, birthdates, dates of receiving medical treatment, contact information, social security numbers, medical records numbers, photographs, and fingerprints.
• Patients must sign a release in order for healthcare providers to request PHI from other facilities and never discuss patient information other than with other healthcare team members working with or caring for that patient.
• Healthcare providers must be careful never to reveal any PHI or leave it in such a way that it is unsecured, and not access any charts unless they are personally going to be caring for that patient.