Citation

Adashi EY, O'Mahony DP, Cohen IG. Am. J. Med. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.amjmed.2023.01.035

PMID

36822260

Abstract

Multiple indicators are consonant with the view that workplace violence in health care settings is on the rise. A 2016 report of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on "Workplace Safety and Health" concluded that "workers in health care facilities experience substantially higher estimated rates of nonfatal injury due to workplace violence compared to workers overall." It was the GAO conclusion that "additional efforts [are] needed to help protect health care workers from workplace violence." Similar conclusions were arrived at by a 2020 fact sheet of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor (DOL) which noted that the "incidence rate of for workplace violence to healthcare workers has increased since 2011" and that "healthcare workers accounted for 73% of all nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses due to violence in 2018." It is in response to this reality that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) developed and published violence prevention guidelines for health care workers. A workplace violence prevention programs was also implemented by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) with an eye towards promoting "a culture of safety and security for Veterans, patients, visitors, and employees in all VHA workplaces."

More recently, the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services informed State Survey Agency Directors that it "will continue to enforce the regulatory expectations that patient and staff have an environment that prioritizes their safety to ensure effective delivery of healthcare." At the time of this writing, however, these initiatives of the executive branch have yet to be matched by its legislative counterpart. It is the objective of this commentary to review the Congressional bills intent on protecting healthcare personnel from workplace violence and discuss the potential impact thereof...

Language: en