OSHA COMPLIANCE---STILL MANDATORY, STILL COMPLEX, AND STILL MONITORED

While most dentists have always focused on maintaining high standards for their staff members’ and patients’ safety, additional government-decreed regulations hit the profession’s “headlines” in1992 with the requirement that latex or similar protective gloves be worn during treatment.  Modifications and numerous additional regulations since then mean the dentist must stay aware of the law, implement all OSHA-decreed regulations in a timely manner, and maintain accurate compliance records for having done so.  OSHA inspections and inquiries about compliance demand immediate, complete response.  Questions about how to “host” OSHA inspectors and answer OSHA inquiries leave many dentists scratching their head.

Since May 2013, the American Dental Association has publicized an updated, comprehensive OSHA Compliance Kit (K011) which includes a Regulatory Compliance Manual with a CD-ROM, a three-year subscription to the annual Regulatory Compliance Update Service, a DVD and workbook, “OSHA Training for Dental Professionals.”  Besides employee training materials, the Kit includes instructions for drafting a pathogen exposure control plan, a hazard communication program, compliance record keeping, and suggestions for appropriate responses to OSHA inquiries.

For more information about the Kit, visit ADAcatalog.org  or call 1-800-947-4746.