Hospitals have effective and comprehensive programs in place that integrate the need to protect patients and health care personnel from infectious diseases, and there is no need for an additional standard, the American Hospital Association said Aug. 4 in a letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
"The existing infection prevention and control standards, including their assessment and enforcement by regulatory, accrediting and certifying bodies, have proven to be functional and appropriate, and substantial resources are dedicated to their regular maintenance and improvement," AHA wrote, responding to OSHA's request for public comments on the issue of occupational exposure to infectious agents in health care settings. Hospitals follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and recommendations for protecting caregivers and patients from infectious disease, which are enforced by hospital accrediting and certifying bodies such as The Joint Commission and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
"In order to justify a new standard, OSHA must demonstrate that these comprehensive and stringently enforced programs are insufficient, and that gaps in the existing programs have led to measurable increases in occupationally acquired infections," AHA said.
