IOM to Study Feasibility of Tracking
Work History in Patient Health
Records
At the request of NIOSH, the Institute of
Medicine (IOM) will conduct a study to
examine the rationale and feasibility of
incorporating work history information
into patient electronic health records.
IOM hopes to demonstrate feasibility by
2013 in order to meet the NIOSH goal of
ensuring meaningful use of occupational
information in electronic health records
by 2015.
New Guidance for Fall Protection in
Residential Construction
A new OSHA guidance document released in April, “Fall Protection in Residential Construction,” is intended to help
employers prevent fall-related injuries
and deaths among residential construction workers, and demonstrates work
methods employers can use to comply
with OSHA’s fall protection standard.
Directed primarily to those working
on new construction, the document describes safety methods employers can
implement during stages of construction.
Methods for preventing fall-related injuries and deaths include using anchors
for personal fall arrest systems and fall
restraints, safety net systems, guardrails,
ladders, and scaffolds for activities such
as installing roof sheathing, weather-proofing a roof, and installing walls and
subfloors, among others.
“Fatalities from falls are the number
one cause of workplace deaths in con-
struction,” said Assistant Secretary of
Labor for Occupational Safety and
Health David Michaels. “We cannot tol-
erate workers getting killed in residential
construction when effective means are
readily available to prevent those
deaths.”
“Fall Protection in Residential Con-
struction” can be downloaded from
www.osha.gov/doc/guidance.pdf. In De-
cember 2010, OSHA issued “Compliance
Guidance for Residential Construction,”
which required that residential construc-
tion employers provide workers with fall
protection according to OSHA’s Fall Pro-
tection in Construction standard. The
standard can be accessed at
www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.
show_document?p_table=
STANDARDS&p_id=10757.
