Healthcare Safety Standards and Regulations

Vocabulary flashcards covering healthcare safety regulations, OSHA inspections, quality assurance and control, pathogen prevention, and vaccination standards.

Nitrile or vinyl gloves

The specific types of gloves used during phlebotomy procedures.

Biohazards

Harmful substances that pose a health risk through exposure.

Bloodborne Pathogens

Viruses and bacteria found in blood and body fluids.

QA (Quality Assurance)

A program that establishes policies and guidelines defining safe practices and documentation procedures, including how quality control processes are performed and accurately recorded.

QC (Quality Control)

Steps, procedures, or practices that help prevent errors and assist in maintaining accuracy, such as checking expiration dates, recording refrigerator temperatures, and testing equipment before use.

CLSI (Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute)

A global laboratory organization committed to quality assurance through establishing standards and guidelines using a teamwork approach.

CLIA '88 (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988)

Federal regulations established to ensure the quality and accuracy of laboratory testing.

OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration)

Agency responsible for establishing safety regulations across every workplace, authorized to ask questions, review records, interview workers, and take photos within a facility.

OSHA Complaint Inspection

An OSHA inspection initiated following a complaint from an employee regarding workplace conditions.

OSHA Programmed Inspection

Random, scheduled OSHA inspections of healthcare and laboratory facilities.

OSHA Fatality or Accident Inspection

An OSHA inspection triggered by a workplace incident resulting in a fatality or the hospitalization of 3 employees.

OSHA Imminent Danger Inspection

An OSHA inspection conducted after receiving information that there is possible immediate danger in the facility.

OSHA Referral Inspection

An OSHA inspection triggered by information provided from another agency, individual, or source.

NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health)

Federal agency responsible for conducting research to provide safer and healthier workplaces.

NSPA (Needlestick Safety & Prevention Act)

Legislation passed on November 6, 2000, requiring the use of safer medical devices to minimize worker exposure to bloodborne pathogens from accidental needlesticks.

OPIM

An acronym standing for Other Potentially Infectious Materials.

SDS (Safety Data Sheet)

A document providing detailed information on chemical exposure, storage, handling, disposal, and confirmation of whether a chemical is water-reactive.

Blood Spill Ratio

A 1:10 dilution ratio used for cleaning blood spills, where there must be 10 units of the second substance for every 1 unit of the first.

Lysol (in Blood Spill Protocol)

An EPA-registered tuberculocidal disinfectant that can be used as an alternative cleaning agent for blood spills.

Hepatitis B Vaccine Schedule

A series of 3 injections required within 10 days of employment: an initial dose, a second dose 1 month later, and a third dose 6 months after the first dose.

Hepatitis B Virus Contagiousness

A bloodborne virus that can survive in dried blood for up to 7 days, making it 50 to 100 times more contagious than HIV.

PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

Protective barriers worn to safeguard against biological hazards, including gloves, masks, gowns, and goggles.