CMS Releases Memo on Workplace Violence Requirements for Hospitals
To combat the increasing incidence of healthcare workplace violence, hospitals must “identify patients at risk for intentional harm to self or others, identify environmental safety risks for such patients, and provide education and training for staff and volunteers” so that workers can deliver care in a safe setting, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services’ (CMS) Quality, Safety, and Oversight Group (QSOG) and Survey and Operations Group (SOG) said in a November 2022 memo (https://www.cms.gov/files/document/qso-23-04-hospitals.pdf).
QSOG and SOG said that CMS expected hospitals to provide staff education and training (https://www.cms.gov/files/document/qso-23-04-hospitals.pdf) during orientation and when policies and procedures change along with ongoing training at least every two years.
Many factors contribute to the issue (https://www.cms.gov/files/document/qso-23-04-hospitals.pdf), according to QSOG and SOG, including working directly with people with a history of aggressive behavior, behavioral issues, or can be under the influence of drugs. According to April 2020 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (https://www.bls.gov/iif/factsheets/workplace-violence-healthcare-2018.htm), healthcare workers accounted for 73% of all nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses because of violence in 2018
Healthcare workplace violence requires legislative support (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy/workforce-violence-requires-legislative-support). Protect yourself and your colleagues as you deliver the best cancer care by advocating (https://ons1.realmagnet.land/ONSHealthPolicy) for policies to create change.