Law and Ethics Flashcards
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 1996 (HIPAA)
Protects worker’s health insurance coverage when they change jobs, limits exclusions for pre-existing conditions, and prohibits discrimination in enrollment or premiums charged based on employees’ or dependents’ health status.
Define Intellectual Property Rights
Represent creations of the mind or intellect that can be owned such as copyright, patent, and trademark creations. The less clear area of trade secrets is sometimes included in this category.
Define Over-the-Counter (OTC) products
Products that are available by ordinary retail purchase, with no need for a prescription or license.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
An agency of the U.S. Dept. of Labor, created by Congress under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. This agency issues and enforces standards for safe and healthy work conditions.
Define Non-compete Clause
Promise by an employee not to compete with his or her employer for a specified time, and within a specified geographic area.
Define Prescription Label
The label generated and applied to a drug package or prescription container of drugs that includes pertinent information including how to properly give the medication to the patient.
Define Internet Pharmacy
A website that offers access to prescription drugs from the comfort of one’s home.
It’s The Law Posters
Defines an employees right and employers responsibilities
Define Informed Consent
A person’s agreement to allow something to happen, such as a medical procedure that is based on full disclosure of the facts necessary to make an intelligent decision.
Define Waste Disposal
Removing and destroying or storing damaged, used, or other unwanted domestic, agricultural, or industrial products and substances.
Regulatory Agencies
Government agencies that perform oversight
Safety Data Sheets (SDS)
16 section document for each drug or chemical providing all important information regarding the use of the substance, including hazards, safe handling, chemical properties, and disposal concerns.
Define Duty
Ethical, legal or moral responsibility of conduct, function or performance, that usually arises from an implied contract.
Ergonomics
A science that deals with designing and arranging things so that people can use them easily and safely.
Ethics
Moral principles that govern the behavior of the veterinary practice and it’s employees.
Fair Credit Reporting Act 1971
Employers often rely on information in consumer credit reports to make hiring or retention decisions. The FCRA places disclosure obligations on users of these reports.
Consent
To permit, approve, or agree
Controlled Substance
Any product regulated by the Controlled Substance Act and/or the Controlled Substance Import and Export Act.
Disclosure
The action of making new or secret information known
Drug cabinet
A secured cabinet intended to limit access to drugs and controlled substances.
Drug Free Workplace
An employment setting where all employees adhere to a program of policies and activities designed to provide a safe workplace, discourage alcohol and drug abuse an encourage treatment, recovery and the return to work of those employees with such abuse problems.
Antitrust
A collection of federal and state laws that regulate the conduct and organization of businesses to promote fair competition for the benefit of the consumer.
At-Will Employment
Form of employment in which the employee is serving the employer at the will of both parties. This allows the employer to terminate its employees with or without cause.
Breach of Confidentiality
Failure to act in a required or promised way regarding trusted or private information.
Child-proof Containers
Resistant to being opened or tampered with by a child.
Collective Bargaining
The process through which a Labor Union and employees negotiate with the employer the terms of the employment relationship such as wages and benefits.
Drug Schedules
Drugs, substances, and certain chemicals used to make drugs are classified into five distinct categories or schedules depending upon the drug’s acceptable medical use.
Privacy
The state or condition of being free from observation, or disturbed by other people.
Practice Act
A state’s or commonwealth’s law, codified into regulations, describing what licensed and non-licensed employees can and cannot do, as well as acceptable medical standards, as it relates to veterinary medicine.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Items that can or must be worn to protect the individual for direct or indirect contact with hazardous substances
Identity Theft
The illegal use of someone else’s personal information (i.e., a Social Security number), especially in order to obtain money or credit.
Implied Contract
An agreement created by actions of the parties involved, but it is not written or spoken.
Form 300A
Form used to log work-related injuries and illnesses. Summary of Work Related Illness and Injury
Professional courtesy
A form of mutual respect among people in the same line of work.
Right to Know
Refers to employees “Right to Know” the information within OSHA’s Hazard Communications Standards.
Retention Schedule
A document that lists the names of the record series produced by your practice, along with their agreed retention periods and disposition methods.
Retention
The continued possession, use, or control of something
Scope
In project management, it is a set of boundaries that define the extent of the project. These boundaries determine what falls inside and outside the project and what is, or is not included, during the planning.
Secondary Labels
OSHA required labels for most chemicals and compounds being used beyond the original manufacturer’s container that the product was shipped in.
Veterinary-Client-Patient-Relationship (VCPR)
The relationship that exists when a veterinarian has assumed the responsibility for making a medical judgment regarding the health of an animal and the need for medical treatment, the veterinarian has sufficient knowledge to initiate a general diagnosis, and the client has agreed to employ the veterinarian and to follow his/her instructions.
Four essential elements to succeed with a legal action for Libel or slander
- Making of a defamatory statement
- Publication of such statement to an individual other than the plaintiff.
- Identification of the plaintiff as the individual defamed in some manner.
- Injury or damage to the reputation of the plaintiff.
Prima Facie Tort
Intentionally doing that which is calculated in the ordinary course of events to damage, and which doe sin fact damage another in that person’ property or trade is actionable if done with out just cause or excuse.
Barratry
Multiple Acts of stirring up lawsuits
Defamation
Libel or slander
Abuse of Process
Involves allegations that the malpractice plaintiff brought the suit with an ulterior motive
Elements to prove Abuse of Process
- Patients (or attorneys) made improper and unauthorized use of legal process
- Malpractice plaintiffs had ulterior motives or purposes for bringing suit
- Doctors have incurred damages resulting from the abuse of process
Four elements to be proven for a malicious prosecution case.
- Termination of the malpractice action in the defendant’s favor.
- Lack of probable cause in bringing the malpractice action.
- Malice in initiating the malpractice suit
- Damages
Comprehensive General Liability
Cover veterinarian’s business-related liabilities
Bailment Coverage
Cover a practitioner’s negligence involving clients’ animals that are destroyed, are lost, or injured while they are in the custody of the veterinarian.
Assumption of risk
When a defendant is able to prove that a plaintiff voluntarily encountered a known risk, the plaintiff may be barred from recovering even if the defendant was negligent.
Professional Liability Insurance
Covers liabilities arising from one’s practice of veterinary medicine.
Duty to Refer
General Practitioners should call upon experts to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of complicated illnesses and diseases
Contributory Negligence
Conduct by a plaintiff which is below the standard to which he is legally required to conform for his own protection and which is a contributing cause which cooperates with the negligence of the defendant in causing the plaintiff’s harm.
Conditions that must exist to invoke Res Ipsa Loquitur
- Accident must have been one that does not ordinarily occur unless there is negligence.
- The agent or instrumentality causing the injury complained of must have been within the control of the defendant.
- The injury must not have been due to any voluntary action or contribution on part of the plaintiff.
Things considered when determining punitive damages.
Degree of malice present
Nature of Property interest invaded
The dollar award needed to punish the defendant and deter such future conduct
The cost of bringing the suit
Annual income and net worth of the defendant.
General Damages
Caused by and flowing naturally from the negligence of the defendant, like damages in the form of pain and suffering or emotional stress
Punitive Damages
Usually awarded in addition to compensatory damages. Awarded for willful, malicious, intentional, or fraudulent acts or for gross and wanton acts of negligence.
Consequential Damages
When the property of another is damaged, the liable part also can be held responsible for any normal and foreseeable consequential damages that arise from the injury.
Animal owners must show that their expenditures are related directly to the defendant’s negligence and would not have been incurred if it had not been for the animal’s injury, escape, or death.
Special Damages
Routinely applied to losses involving animals
Damage awards involve establishing the animals fair market value
The difference between the animal’s fair market value before and after the injury is usually allowed.
Compensatory Damages
Plaintiffs should be compensated for their injuries and the legal system should try to restore them as closely as possible to the form they were in before the wrong occurred.
Nominal Damages
Awarded when judges or juries recognize that
1. Plaintiffs have filed valid causes of action
2. They have fulfilled their burden of proof to support a verdict in their favor.
Usually $1 granted due to insufficient proof of actual damages
Types of Damages Awarded for Negligence
Nominal
Compensatory
Punitive
Three Tests for Informed Consent
- Physicians must disclose facts which a reasonable medical practitioner in a similar community and of the same school of medical thought would have disclosed regarding the proposed treatment.
- Physicians disclose all risks that would be material to a reasonable, prudent person in the patient’s position
- Subjective minority view - the jury determines what risks were or were not material to the particular plaintiff’s/patient’s decision with respect to treatment received or not received.
Res Ipsa Loquitur
The principle that the occurrence of an accident implies negligence
The Standard under Malpractice
Requires veterinarians to exercise the care and diligence as is ordinarily exercised by skilled veterinarians.
The 4 essential elements required for the law of negligence
- Establishing that the defendant had a duty to prevent an injury from occurring to the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s property. (Duty)
- Establishing that the defendant violated that duty by failing to act in accordance with the standard of care expected of other vets under the same/similar circumstances (Breach of duty)
- Showing that a reasonably close casual connection existed between the defendant vet’s conduct or lack of conduct and the resulting injury. (Proximate Cause)
- Proving that actual damage or harm occurred to the interests of another person. (damages)
Doctrine of Proximate Cause
The ability to prove that a reasonable close casual connection existed between the defendant vet’s conduct or lack of conduct and the resulting injury.
Negligence
The doing of some act that a person of ordinary prudence would not have done under similar circumstances or the failure to do what a person of ordinary prudence would have done under the same or similar circumstances.
What are the three areas of ethics
Social, personal, and professional
Social Ethics
The consensus principles adopted or accepted by society at large and codified into laws and regulations.
Personal Ethics
What is right or wrong on an individual basis
Professional Ethics
developed by the professionals of a particular discipline developing rules, codes, and conduct for the profession to follow.
Four branches of veterinary ethics
Descriptive, official, administrative, and normative
Descriptive Ethics
The study of ethical views of veterinarians and veterinary professionals regarding their behavior and attitude.
Official ethics
Involves the creation of the offical ethical standards adopted by organizations of professionals and imposed on their members
Administrative Ethics
Actions by administrative government bodies that regulate veterinary practice and activities in which veterinarians engage.
Normative Ethics
The search for correct principles of good and bad right and wrong, and justice or injustice
Two categories of law
Civil and Criminal
Civil Laws
Relates to the duties between people and the government. In veterinary medicine, contract law falls under civil law.
Criminal Law
Prosecutes crimes committed against the public as a whole.
Tort
A civil offense to an opposing party in which harm has occurred.
Intentional tort
An intentional action that has taken place in which harm has occurred to another member of society.
Unintentional Tort
Failure to practice the standard of care. i.e. an animal suffering an injury because of neglect.
Contract Law
Deal with duties established by individuals as a result of a contractual agreement.
Negligence
The performance of an act that a reasonable person under the same circumstances would not perform.
Malpractice
Dereliction of duty, resulting in injury to the patient.
Consent
Voluntary acceptance or agreement to what is planned or is done by another person.
Informed Consent
In veterinary medicine when a veterinary practice has given information to a client regarding the proposed treatment, allowing the client to make an informed decision regarding whether to proceed with treatment.
Elements that must be addressed to have complete informed consent.
- Consent must be given freely
- Treatment and diagnosis must be given in understandable terms.
- Risks, benefits, and prognosis of the defined procedure must be stated as well as the prognosis if no treatment is elected.
- Practice must provide a statement of alternative treatments or procedures along with the risks, benefits, and the cost of each.
- Client must be given the right to ask questions and have them answered.
AVMA Code of Ethics in regards to ER/Critical Patients
Veterinarians have an ethical responsibility to provide essential services for animals when necessary to save life or relieve suffering, subsequent to client agreement. Such emergency care may be limited to euthanasia to relieve suffering, or to stabilization of the patient for transport to another source of animal care.
Four basic elements to prove a negligence case
- Establishment of a VCPR
- Breach of duty must be proven.
- Proximate cause must be established.
- Damages or harm incurred by the patient as a result of the negligent act must be displayed.
Breach of duty
The failure of the veterinarian or technician to act in accordance with the standard of care.
Proximate Cause
The connection between the negligent act of the veterinarian and/or technician and the harm to the patient caused by the act.
Standard of Care
The duty to exercise the care and diligence that is ordinarily exercised by a reasonably competent veterinarian under normal circumstances.
Guardian Ad litem
A person appointed to protect the interests of a minor or legally incompetent person in a lawsuit, or in this case, an animal.
What governing body oversees safety regulations (US)?
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Carcinogen
Substance or agent that is known to cause cancer
During orientation what safety factors should employees be introduced to?
Emergency Exits
Location of surgical gases
Location of fire extinguishers
Radiographic filming and developing areas
Bulletin boards where safety notices are posted
Location of safety manuals and material safety data sheets files
Location and use of personal protective equipment
Surgical Areas
Hospitalization/boarding areas, especially if sound levels are excessive and require protective equipment.
What documentation should be available for the purposes of employee safety?
Name of safety officer/individual who trains employees and verifies safety conditions in the practice.
List of all hazardous chemicals used in practice
Filing system for material safety data sheets
Description of the labeling system used when compounds are transferred from their original containers
What to do in case of emergency, and steps to take in case of evacuation
Training program in place
Things that should be included on a hazardous material list
Injectable medications
Pesticides
Antiseptics, disinfectants, and sanitizers
laboratory reagants
radiographic chemicals and supplies
disinfectants and hospital sanitizers (including please, but not routine household cleaners)
compressed gases
What information is included on an SDS
identity of chemical physical and chemical characteristics health hazards permissible exposure limits whether it is a carcinogen emergency first-aid procedures specific hazards
Which OSHA document should injuries be reported on?
300 Log
What are the four elements to a facility’s OSHA compliance and safety program
administrative tasks
evaluation and control of facility or procedural hazards
the use of PPE
staff training
Hazard Assessment
A physical exam of the facility and procedures of the practice looking for risks or potentially harmful procedures
Hospital Safety Manual
A collection of all the safety rules, and policies of the facility
PPE
Personal Protective Equipment. Items that are worn to protect the individual from direct or indirect contact with hazardous substances. Must be provided at no cost to staff members.
SDS
Safety Data Sheet. A document prepared by the manufacturer of a product that contains detailed technical and safety information about the product
Safety Director
Individual responsible for overseeing the safety plan for the entire facility.
Premises liability
A legal term in which property owners are held responsible for any type of personal injury caused by some type of unsafe or defective condition.
Invitee
Anyone who enters the premises by invitation and whose entry is connected with or may in some way enhance the business of the owner
Licensee
Someone who enters the premises but does so for his or her own purposes rather than for the benefit of the business owner
Trespasser
A person who goes on the premises without an express or implied invitation from the possessor.
Attractive Nuisance Doctrine
A premises that has or creates a condition that may be reasonably seen as “attractive” yet is a source of danger (especially to a child) has a special duty to take reasonable precautions to prevent injury to children who may be attracted to the danger.
Scienter
A legal term implying that the offender had knowledge of wrongdoing before the act was committed
Imposing liability upon a part for an animal-related injury is dependant on what two important components?
The facts and circumstances surrounding the incident (including what or who was injured/damaged)
The jurisdiction in which the injury or damage occurred
OSHA General Duty Clause
Requires an employer to provide a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.
Hazard Assessment
A physical exam of the facility and procedures of the practice looking for risks or potentially harmful procedures
Safety Manual
A written collection of safety-related information in the practice into one resource.
Bloodborne Pathogens
Generally refers to disease-causing organisms present in the blood, but could refer to any organism capable of infecting a human from blood or body fluid contact.
ALARA (radiology)
As-Low-As-Reasonably-Achievable. Making every reasonable effort to maintain exposures to ionizing radiation as far below the dose limits as practice.
What is the set maximum permissible dose of ionizing radiation per year?
50 mSv/year
Workers’ Compensation
A system for payment of benefits to injured workers and their families, primarily for lost wages and medical expenses incurred as a result of work-related injuries, sickness, disability, and death, usually without regard to negligence or fault.
What are the priorities in emergency situations?
Public safety - protect human lives
Protection of property
Protection of the environment.
Animal protection in emergencies may be the highest priority for many people after the protection of human life.
Preservation of evidence for criminal prosecution may be critical in some events.
What are the four phases of emergency management?
Mitigation
Preparation
Response
Recovery
What is the National Incident Management System?
Mandates the use of the Incident Command System and provides a unified command structure that works to ensure that all resources working in an event are under a single command hierarchy
What is the incident command system
A standardized system for management of emergency response across all levels of government: federal, state, county, and local.
What is an Emergency Operations Plan?
A comprehensive plan addressing planning, preparedness, response, and mitigation based on a risk assessment and using an all-hazards approach to managing incidents.
Risk analysis equation
Hazards + Vulnerabilities = Risk
Who regulates the controlled substances that veterinaries use and dispense
DEA
Which agency is responsible for enforcing the Controlled Substances Act
DEA
Schedule I CDS
The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use for treatment in the US.
There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision
Schedule II CDS
The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the US or a currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions.
Abuse of the drug or other substances may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.
Schedule III CDS
The drug or other substance has a potential for abuse less than the drugs or other substances in Schedules I and II.
The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the US
Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to moderate or low physical dependence of high psychological dependence.
Schedule IV CDS
The drug or other substance has a low potential for abuse relative to the drugs or other substances in Schedule III.
The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the US.
Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to limited physical dependence or psychological dependence relative to the drugs or other substances in Schedule III.
Schedule V CDS
The drug or other substance has a low potential for abuse relative to the drugs or other substances in Schedule IV.
The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the US
Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to limited physical dependence or psychological dependence relative to the drugs or other substances in Schedule IV.
According to the CSA registration is required for which persons?
- Every person who manufactures or distributes any controlled substance or List I chemical, or who proposes to engage in the manufacture or distribution of any controlled substance or List I chemical, shall obtain annually a registration issued by the AG in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by him.
- Every person who dispenses or proposes to dispense any controlled substance shall obtain from the AG a registration issued in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by him.
Which DEA form should be completed when reporting loss or theft
Form 106
What questions can be asked for employees working in a controlled substances environment?
Within the past five years, have you been convicted of a felony, or within the past two years, of any misdemeanor, or are you presently formally charged with committing a criminal offense. If the answer is yes, furnish details of conviction, offense, location, date, and sentence.
In the past three years, have you ever knowingly used any narcotics, amphetamines, or barbiturates, other than those prescribed to you by a physician? If the answer is yes, furnish details.
What governing body regulates all animal pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and medicated feeds and foods.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Which governing body regulates veterinary vaccines?
The United States Depart of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Center of Veterinary Biologicals (CVB)
Which governing body regulates topical pesticides used to treat fleas and ticks?
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Adverse Drug Event
Any adverse event associated with the use of an animal drug, whether or not considered to be drug-related, and whether or not the drug was used in accordance with the approved indication, species, or dosage. An ADE can also include lack of expected efficacy, product defect, or human exposure to the product either directly or due to residue violations and exposure in food.
Food and Drug Administration
The FDA is an agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services that is responsible for protecting public health by regulating the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution to ensure the safety, efficacy, and security of human biological products, human and veterinary drugs, and medical devices, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.
Food and Drug Center for Veterinary Medicine
FDA-CVM is a branch of the FDA dedicated to ensuring the safety and efficacy of animal drugs, devices, medicated feed for companion and food-producing animals, and the safety of food products made from treated animals. In addition, the FAD-CVM monitors the safety and effectiveness of animal drugs on the market, ensures the safety of pet foods and food additives.
National Animal Supplemental Council
The NASC is a nonprofit industry that provides guidelines for product quality assurance, adverse event reporting, and labeling standards for animal supplements.
United States Pharmacopeia
USP. Established in 1820, the USP is a nongovernmental organization that sets quality standards for medicines, food ingredients, and dietary supplements for the United States and other countries.
What are the three ways to report ADEs?
- Call the drug company
- Download Form FDA 1932a “Veterinary Adverse Experience, Lack of Effectiveness or Product Defect Report
- Contact the FDA CVM by email
An ADE report is generated when what four critical pieces of information are provided?
- An identifiable reporter
- An identifiable animal or human
- An identifiable drug
- One or more clinical signs.
Which act regulates the USDA-APHIS CVB?
The Virus, Serum and Toxin Act
Which Act regulates the EPA?
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Roenticide Act
What Licenses, Permits, and Registrations are required for a veterinary hospital?
General Business License Premise Permit Employer's Identification Number DEA Registration Radiology and Laser Machine Registration (May be state dependant)
What is a premise permit?
Used to ensure that every veterinary facility, whether privately or corporate-owned, meets at least minimum standards for cleanliness, record-keeping, and client access. This registration is the method by which the hospital enters the state-level facility inspection program.
True or False:
Practices with more than one location are required to have a veterinarian registered with the DEA at each location if they store, administer or dispense controlled drugs from that location.
True
What is an implementation plan when it comes to your Hazard Assessment
A list of changes or procedures that need attention.
What is another name for the Hospital Safety Manual?
Injury and Illness Prevention Plan
What rights do employers have under OSHA?
Set and enforce safety rules in the workplace.
Be present or designate a representative during any inspection or investigation.
Require that the Compliance Officer obtain a warrant before entering or inspecting the business.
Request the inspection (once notified) be postponed a reasonable time.
Expect that trade secrets will not be divulged to competitors as a result of an inspection or investigation.
Consult an attorney or advisor before, during, or after an inspection and before responding to any inquiry.
See any complaint that has been alleged against the business.
Insist that staff members be interviewed during an investigation or inspection at a time that does not unreasonably interfere with the staff member’s job.
Right to appeal findings and/or citations issued by an OSHA Compliance Officer.
What are the employer’s responsibilities under OSHA?
Provide a workplace, insofar as possible, free from recognized or unnecessary hazards.
Set and enforce safety rules in the workplace and to communicate those rules to the staff members in a clear and concise manner.
Provide Personal Protective Equipment and proper instructions for its use so that staff members can perform tasks safely.
Provide training and instructions for staff members to understand the hazards associated with their jobs and the steps necessary to protect themselves.
What are the Staff Member’s Rights under OSHA?
A workplace free from recognized hazards.
Be informed of their rights under the ASH Act.
Be informed of known hazards (including chemicals) in the workplace and be trained to safely perform the job duties. (basis for Right to Know Law).
Be provided with and instructed on the use of all personal protective equipment (PPE) that is required for safe job performance.
View and receive copies of all applicable OSHA Standards.
Access to all medical and exposure records that may be maintained as part of the business.
Be present in the workplace when safety testing or monitoring is performed.
Present complaints to the employer (or OSHA) when a hazard or suspected hazard requires attention or correction.
Speak with a Compliance Office (inspector) privately during an inspection of the workplace.
What are a staff member’s responsibilities underr OSHA?
Comply with all occupational safety and health standards and all rules, regulations, and orders issued under the Act.
Read the OSHA poster
Comply with all applicable standards
Follow all lawful employer safety and health rules and regulations.
Wear or use prescribed personal protective equipment while working.
Report hazardous conditions to the supervisor.
Report any job-related injury or illness to the employer and see treatment promptly.
Cooperate with the OSHA compliance officer during an inspection if he or she inquires about safety and health conditions in the workplace.
What steps should be taken to ensure the “unpreventable employee misconduct” defense?
- Established rules designed to prevent the alleged violation.
- Adequately communicated these rules to staff members.
- Taken reasonable steps to discover whether staff members were following the rules.
- Effectively enforced the rules when violations are discovered
(Complete Veterinary Practice Regulatory Compliance Manual page 11)
True or False:
Contract employees do not have to follow OSHA safety regulations.
False
What criteria need to be considered when determining whether an employer/employee relationship exists under OSHA
- Who do the workers consider their employer or do they consider themselves to be self-employed?
- Who pays the workers’ wages? Who establishes the level of wages and how?
- Who has actual power or ability to control the workers? Who actually directs or supervises the workers’ daily and overall activities, assigns work, decides whether work is satisfactory, and establishes work schedules including hours of operation, vacation, and/or sick leave?
- Does the workers’ ability to increase their income depend on simple efficiency rather than initiative, judgement and foresight? May the workers increase their income through the exercise of business judgement and marketing?
- Who has control over the work environment such that hazards may be abated? Who owns or furnishes the equipment and physical worksite? Who controls and supplies and determines which chemicals are to be used.
What is a safety plan?
Safety procedures for hazardous jobs that must be followed when that activity is performed. The plan must be in writing and must reflect the actual way the staff performs the procedure.
Most written safety plans include what components?
- An explanation of the hazard or danger.
- Specific instances where a staff member may be exposed to that hazard.
- The specific do and don’t steps that the staff member must take when performing the given procedures.
- When and how testing or monitoring equipment is used and how the results of those tests are communicated to the staff.
- The name of the person who can give additional training, assistance, or answer questions.
Define occupational injury or illness
Any incident that occurs while an employee is working and meets one or more of the appropriate conditions.
What are the appropriate conditions for occupational injury or illness?
The death of an employee on the job
The loss of consciousness of an employee while on the job
The employee loses at least one day of work because of the incident
The employee’s duties or abilities are restricted or he/she is transferred to another job because of the incident.
The employee receives medical treatment other than first aid because of the incident.
The employee suffers a fractured or cracked bone, a punctured eardrum, or any chronic, irreversible disease as a result of their job.
The employee develops cancer, tuberculosis or is removed from their job for medical reasons under an OSHA health standard.
The employee is stuck with a needle or cut from a sharp object that is contaminated with HUMAN blood or HUMAN infectious material during the performance of their duties.
At what number of employees is a business required to file OSHA Form 300 and 300A?
11 or more.
What is the OSHA 300 form called?
Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
What is the OSHA 300A form called?
Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses.
When are you required to post an OSHA 300A form?
February 1st through April 30th
True or False:
You are required to report all injuries to OSHA.
False. only incidents that involved the death of an employee or in the hospitalization of five or more employees from the same cause must be reported to OSHA.
How long must OSHA records related to injuries or illnesses be maintained?
5 years
When evaluating solutions to the safety issues identified in the safety assessment, OSHA requires the practice to solve the problem in what sequence?
- Primarily utilizing “engineering controls” when possible.
- By the use of “procedural controls” also known as “work practice controls”
- By relying on Personal Protective Equipment devices to place a “barrier” between the employee and the hazard.
What is an engineering control?
Installation and use of mechanical devices to reduce, remove or isolate the hazard.
What is procedural control?
The way a task is performed. Modifying the way something is done so that the hazard is eliminated or reduced.
When is OSHA training required?
Training is required before a worker is exposed to the danger or as soon as the hazard becomes known to the business.
What OSHA standards specifically require staff member training?
General duty clause-Wrokers’ rights and responsibilities under the Act
- 38 - Emergency and fire prevention plans
- 95 - Occupation Noise exposure
- 96 - Ionizing Radiation
- 132 - Personal Protective Equipment
- 145 - Signs and tags
- 15 - Medical services and first aid
- 157 - Portable Fire Extinguishers
- 1047 - Ethylene Oxide
- 1048 - Formaldehyde
- 1200 - Hazard communication (chemicals)
What additional safety topics outside the OSHA standards-mandated subjections should be given attention during training for veterinary practice workers?
Waste anesthetic gas exposure
Animal handling
Zoonotic disease prevention
Medical waste and sharps
Personal safety/violence prevention
General workplace guidelines (lifting, proper dress, reporting problems, etc)
Handling chemotherapeutic drugs
Electrical Safety.
What are the five types of waste generated in a veterinary hospital?
Animal Waste
General Waste
Biologically Hazardous Waste
Sharps
Hazardous Chemical Waste
True or False:
OSHA regulates the ultimate disposal methods of medical waste from a veterinary hospital.
False: That is a function of each state’s Health Department or Environmental Control Divison.
What are the five options for the disposal of expired or no-longer-used chemical products in the veterinary practice?
- Donate.
- Recycle.
- Transform.
- Contain and discard
- Contract
According to OSHA what is the definition/requirements of an exit way?
A door must be at least 28 inches wide and 6 feet 8 inches high.
A hallway or corridor that leads to or from an exit door must also be 28 inches wide, but the ceiling of the hallway or access route must be at least 7 feet 6 inches high.
Any protrusions from the ceiling must be easily visible with the available lighting, clearly marked and can never hang down lower than 6 feet 8 inches from the floor.
Where is it recommended to place evacuation diagrams in a veterinary hospital?
Treatment room or “activity center” of the practice.
At least once on each floor of a multi-floor building
Staff break room or lounge
In any area where the direction of travel is not readily apparent.
What are the two most common causes of fires in a veterinary practice?
Overloaded, improper, or faulty electrical wiring.
Storage of flammable materials too close to heat sources.
According to OSHA, Emergency and Fire Plans should include what items?
Escape procedures and route assignments
Procedures to be followed by staff members who remain to perform (or shut down) critical operations before they evacuate.
Procedures to account for all employees after an emergency evacuation.
Rescue and medical duties for those workers who are to perform them.
The preferred means of reporting fires and other emergencies.
Name of the person to be contacted for more information
When must the fire and emergency action plan be explained to staff?
When the plan is first developed or when they are first hired.
Whenever the plan is changed.
When the staff member’s duties in the plan change.
What guidelines should be followed in respect to fire extinguishers?
Plentiful enough and strategically placed so that a person is never more than 75 feet from a fire extinguisher at any place in the practice.
Located near exits whenever possible so that the chances of the fire being between the extinguisher and the exit is minimized (firefighters call this attacking the fire from a strong position).
Always be mounted on the wall between 32 and 48 inches from the floor and easily visible.
Inspected once a year by a qualified service company and hydrostatically tested every 6 years.
Checked monthly be a designated staff member to ensure they are still present, have no obvious damage or leaks and when equipped, the pressure gauge indicates proper charging.
True or False:
Automatic sprinkler systems are mandated by OSHA for the majority of veterinary practices?
False. Municipalities are usually the governing bodies regarding automatic sprinkler systems.
What is one of the most common and most overlooked hazards in today’s veterinary practice?
Electricity
What is the one situation where a GFCI outlet should not be used?
To supply power to a computer surge protector or UPS.
According to OSHA regulations what angle to the horizontal is required for stairways in the workplace?
30 to 50 degrees. Any tread-to-riser dimensions may be used as long as the run of the tread is no less than 8 inches and the rise from the flat of one step to the flat of the next is no great than 10 inches.
How wide must a stairway be?
22 inches through their length.
What are the components of a stair railing?
Top rail, intermediate rail, and posts
What is the leading cause of death for American workers?
motor vehicle crashes
What precautions should be taken for employees who drive (either with company or personal vehicle) for their employer?
Keep a photocopy of each staff member’s driver’s license in their personnel files at the practice.
Ensure that all lights, signals, wipers, and the horn on the vehicle work properly.
Make sure the tires are inflated to the proper pressure and have adequate tread remaining.
Check to be sure that both the regular and parking brakes operate normally.
If the operator’s view to the rear is obstructed by the load or the vehicle design, then an audible (sound) back-up alarm must be installed.
Seat belts must work properly and be in good repair.