The first is for Hepatitis B. All employees must be offered the vaccine if they have potential occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens and have documented proof in their personnel file of immunization or a declination. The second requirement is an ongoing record of inoculations such as Influenza, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, etc. This includes any state-specific required inoculations and any required by facility policy.
The surveyor will request documentation during the personnel file review portion of the survey. The documented evidence of compliance required to be present in the personnel file can be an immunization record, a titer result indicating immunity, documentation from a previous employer, a physician’s office, a printout from a state immunization registry, or an attestation from a central HR department.
Tuberculosis (TB) is another common infectious disease that may require screening and testing. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) recommend screening and testing of health care workers, but it is no longer required. However, it may be required by the state. Once initial screening and testing are complete, annual TB testing of healthcare workers is not recommended unless there is a known exposure or ongoing transmission in your community. In addition to testing and screening, staff education is important and should occur annually. Please verify the requirements with your state Department of Health TB Program.
Facilities must be familiar with state requirements for healthcare workers, which are generally found on the state health department website.
Since 1980, QUAD A (a non-profit, physician-founded and led global accreditation organization) has worked with thousands of healthcare facilities to standardize and improve the quality of healthcare they provide – believing that patient safety should always come first.