I just posted this to SOAPM yesterday:
The following OSHA regulations only apply to those folks in federal OSHA states. About half the states have a state-run OSHA program, in which case YMMV. Some state OSHA programs copy-paste the feds 99% of the time; other states really do their own thing. Again, YMMV so this is what federal OSHA has done.
- Weekly (or periodic) testing of unvaccinated staff for COVID was only an OSHA mandate for those with 100+ employees. And that mandate was struck down by SCOTUS, so OSHA has walked it back.
- The OSHA requirement for universal screening of everyone who steps foot in your office (patient, parent, UPS dude) no longer exists. There was never an OSHA requirement for temperature-taking as part of screening.
- OSHA still has a requirement that you fit test folks who need to use respirators, and that respirators be provided on your dime, and they be worn in appropriate settings. CDC has a lot more specific guidance around when respirators should be worn, along with other PPE (although as you know CDC only has advisory authority, not enforcement authority, on pediatric practices.) CDC’s guidance for PPE for sick visits depends on several things: a) do you think the patient could have COVID; b) are you (The HCP) vaccinated; c) what are you doing to the patient, secretionwise; and d) what is the community transmission rate of COVID in your county?
If you are in a “low” or “moderate” transmission county (blue or yellow) here:
…the CDC makes a lot of the PPE optional. The official “if you are vaccinated, and you live in a lower-tier transmission community, and you are seeing a patient whom you do not suspect to have COVID” document from CDC is here: Infection Control: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) | CDC
PLEASE NOTE that the above map is the “medical facilities” map. There is also a “Community” map (COVID-19 by County | CDC) which gives guidance for, like, do you need to wear a mask at the grocery store or church. THIS MAP IS FOR NON-MEDICAL SITUATIONS. Note that much of America is in a “OK to not wear a mask when you go out to a restaurant, but you should wear a mask in a health care setting” color scheme. I don’t see this as contradictory – healthcare workers by nature of their occupation are always the first people to put masks on and the last to take them off.
As previously discussed, OSHA has a general duty clause which basically states that, if you know there’s a hazard to your staff and you don’t take reasonable steps to mitigate it, you’re culpable, even if there’s no explicit regulation requiring it. If you practice in a community where elephants are free-range and come into your parking lot and routinely come eat out of your dumpster, there is an expectation that your staff can be free from pachydermal danger, even though there are no OSHA regs specifically speaking to elephant-related safety. That said, it would not be unreasonable to make an argument that, while COVID rates are low(er) and your staff is well protected, you could dispense with some of the more hard-core OSHA requirements.