Healthcare industry's compliance with OSHA emergency temporary standard now required

An Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS) went into effect in early June 2021, and compliance with most of the provisions was required by July 6. The final set of provisions (pertaining to training, ventilation, and barriers) wasn't mandated until July 21. With some exceptions, the ETS applies to all settings where any employee provides healthcare or healthcare support services.

Who's covered

Healthcare services. Services provided to individuals by professional healthcare practitioners (e.g., doctors, nurses, emergency medical personnel, oral health professionals) for the purpose of promoting, maintaining, monitoring, or restoring health are covered. The services can be delivered through various means, including hospitalization, long-term care, ambulatory care (e.g., treatment in physicians' offices, dentists' offices, medical clinics), home health and hospice care, emergency medical response, and patient transport. They also include autopsies.

Healthcare support services. Also covered are services facilitating the provision of healthcare services, including patient intake/admittance, patient food services, equipment and facility maintenance, housekeeping services, healthcare laundry work, medical waste handling functions, and medical equipment cleaning/reprocessing services.

What isn't covered

The ETS doesn't apply to the following tasks and locations: