When the OSHA Hazard Communication (Hazcom) standard was first written, what were then called Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) (and which are now called Safety Data Sheets (SDS) were kept almost … [Read more...]
Compliance Perspectives
How to Audit the Effectiveness of Your Lab Compliance Plan
February 7, 2021
If you’re reading this, it’s a pretty good bet that you’ve put a compliance plan into place at your lab. But just how effective is it? To answer this crucial question, you must consider not only what … [Read more...]
Compliance Perspectives
Can You Require Lab Workers to Get the COVID-19 Vaccination?
January 6, 2021
Although it’s clearly a positive development for the world at large, the almost miraculous emergence of a vaccine for COVID-19 in less than a year poses legal challenges for employers in general and … [Read more...]
Compliance Perspectives
How to Create and Implement a Mandatory Face Mask Policy at Your Lab Facilities
August 7, 2020
What began as a CDC guideline is evolving into a legal duty with more than 20 states and countless municipalities across the country adopting laws requiring individuals to wear masks or face coverings … [Read more...]
Compliance Briefing
How to Comply with the New HHS COVID-19 Test Data Reporting Rules
July 3, 2020
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has ordered labs that perform COVID-19 testing to report test data to state and local public health agencies by August 1, 2020. What makes the … [Read more...]
GAO Report
Federal COVID-19 Testing Data Collection Effort Has Been Ineffective
July 3, 2020
The federal government has done a poor job of collecting and reporting COVID-19 testing data to the CDC since the pandemic began. That’s the conclusion of a U.S. Government and Accountability Office … [Read more...]
TOOL
Model COVID-19 Exposure Control Plan
June 4, 2020
Regulators have made it clear that workplaces, including labs, must implement written plans to control COVID-19 exposure risks at the site. Here’s a Model Plan template your lab can adapt that … [Read more...]
Stark Law
How Coronavirus Public Health Emergency Offers Potential for Temporary Stark Relief
March 17, 2020
On Jan. 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared novel coronavirus, aka, COVID-19, a public health emergency (PHE). While it might sound like the highest level of government … [Read more...]
Compliance Perspectives: New Laws & the Top 5 Challenges Lab Compliance Officers Face in 2020
January 2, 2020
Labs remain at the forefront of the federal government’s suspicious persons list and health care fraud enforcement agenda. But in addition to the customary laws that labs are used to, the government … [Read more...]
Brief Your CEO: It May Become Easier to Get CMS Stark Clearance for Business Deals with Referral Sources
October 17, 2019
Part of the challenge of running a lab compliance program is making your officers aware of how business transactions your lab makes with a physician that refers patients to you for testing creates the … [Read more...]
