Re-posted with permission from PDC Healthcare and edited.
Workplace violence is on average four times more likely in healthcare settings compared to private industries. Currently, Pennsylvania law requires healthcare employee IDs to include a photo, first and last name. With social media and personal information being easier than ever to access online, sharing the full name of healthcare workers leaves them vulnerable for ill-intentioned patients to search for personal information about their family, home, and friends.
Proposed PA Bill Removes Some ID Badge Requirements
In an effort to protect the identities of nurses and other healthcare employees, a new bill in Pennsylvania looks to remove the requirement of last names on healthcare providers’ identification badges.
The bill was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives and now sits with the Senate for review. If passed, this bill could drive similar changes in other states, with many facilities eagerly adopting the new policy and replacing their ID Badges to help protect employees.
With skyrocketing rates of violence in our healthcare environments, measures are also being taken at the federal level. In November, the US House of Representatives passed H.R. 1309, a federal bill that requires OSHA to create a standard for federal workplace violence prevention plans. The bill includes an implementation timeline and sets minimum requirements for the prevention plans.
Healthcare Systems Prepare for Action
While legislation might drive the initial change, some health systems are proactively tackling the issue. University of Pennsylvania Medical Center (UPMC), which has roughly 87,000 employees, 40 hospitals, and 700 clinical locates has already updated its employee badges to make the last name much smaller. UPMC released in a statement about the PA bill, “We support this bill as it helps protect our employees and is an important piece of workplace safety legislation.
It’s expected that other states will likely adopt similar legislation and that other hospitals and health systems will take action to help protect the privacy of employees.
The ISG is Here to Help
If your organization is considering an update of your employee badge format, your local ISG identification system expert can walk you through the process, making it simple and painless. We have a standardized approach for working with large organizations to redesign employee badges to make them compliant with legislation and current organizational branding, as well as incorporating card technologies to meet access control needs.
As a nationwide network of security and ID dealers, the ISG has partners like PDC Healthcare that makes label options to cover last names on badges as a temporary solution while you prepare to make the switch. We an help hospitals throughout Pennsylvania, and across the US and Canada with our broad portfolio and industry expertise in identification solutions.
Talk to an ISG expert today for help navigating new legislation in your state or province, and identifying the best employee, patient and visitor identification solutions for your facility.
Original article written by Jess Downs for Connect ID.
