An unappreciated, underused resource for employers was thrust into the limelight recently when the National Business Group on Health released "An Employer's Guide to Employee Assistance Programs" at a Washington, D.C., news conference. Two years of studying best practices and evidencebased approaches to the design and delivery of effective employee assistance programs (EAPs) contributed to the guide.
The Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services recently announced publication of a request for information (RFI) soliciting public comments in advance of developing rulemakings on group health plans. The RFI is published in the April 28 Federal Register.
No one can predict when a chemical splash will occur. But we can plan for the possibility, put in place preventive and protective measures, and prepare for a quick emergency response.
The Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule on April 28 that requires manufacturers of over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers and fever reducers to revise their labeling to include warnings about potential safety risks, such as internal bleeding and liver damage, associated with the use of these popular drugs.
In the first of this series of articles (March 2009, pages 66-67), we explored the difference between primary and secondary prevention strategies of employee injuries. As we stated, the dramatic reduction of employee injuries in the past 15 years demonstrates the employer's success in preventing an injury from occurring. However, when an injury does occur, the cost of that injury continues to spiral upward. We find ourselves in an environment where the frequency of injuries is down, but severity is up.
"Hospitals are walking a tightrope, trying to balance the growing needs of their communities with today's economic challenges," American Hospital Association President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock said.
The International Association of Fire Chiefs' Safety, Health and Survival Section convened an expert panel that questions the methodology behind a report examining laws in 24 states that have a cancer presumption benefit for firefighters.
With more outbreaks of the new strain of swine flu come outbreaks of misinformation and rumor. The following is edited from a press release of 20 questions answered by infectious disease expert Charles Ericsson, M.D., professor of internal medicine and director of Travel Medicine at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently recommended that consumers not eat raw alfalfa sprouts, including sprout blends containing alfalfa sprouts, until further notice because the product has been linked to Salmonella serotype Saintpaul contamination. Other types of sprouts have not been implicated at this time.
Though written with avian flu in mind, the guidebook will help workplaces prepare for the swine flu already affecting several countries. The organization is making it available free.
Three advisory committees will meet June 29-30 to discuss the public health risk these popular medications pose. FDA said it does not plan to seek acetaminophen's removal from the market.
Author and pediatric neurosurgeon Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., M.D., of Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes will be the conference's keynote speaker. He will be joined by a cadre of other experts making presentations at the event, June 7-11.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, which is currently available for public comment, Puainako Town Center in Hilo, Hawaii, must close all eight large capacity cesspools owned and operated by the company by May 1, 2009.
An in-depth analysis of blood from patients recovering from the H5N1 avian influenza virus has provided important insights into how to combat the potentially lethal virus.
Ashton Kutcher and Oprah have nothing to fear, but the American Medical Association's new profile and tweets offering useful information for physicians, residents, and medical students are drawing an online crowd. Also, AMA and its board chair, Dr. Joseph M. Heyman, shown here, announced Wednesday the launch of a health information exchange for its 240,000 member physicians and the physician population at large.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will hold a public meeting today at 10 a.m. EDT to address best practices to avoid discrimination against workers with caregiving responsibilities. The meeting, at agency headquarters, 131 M Street, N.E., is open for public observation of the commission's deliberations, in accordance with the Sunshine Act.
An Auburn University professor has received a $424,000 National Science Foundation grant for research in the fight against infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, anthrax, and staph infections.
An infection preventionist for more than 26 years, Russell N. Olmsted, MPH, CIC, is epidemiologist in Infection Control Services for St. Joseph Mercy Health System in Ann Arbor, Mich., and a member of Trinity Health, a national Catholic health care network headquartered in Novi, Mich.
It commits nearly $6 billion during fiscal years 2010 through 2014 for service entities, including AmeriCorps and new corps working on energy, education, health care, and veterans' services.