Survey Says a Third of Doctors Won't Treat New Medicaid Patients

Health Affairs, a medical-news journal, recently published the results of a survey that aimed to find out how well accepted new Medicaid patients are. The study, conducted in 2011 of doctors by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), showed that 69 percent of doctors in the United States accept new Medicaid patients. The survey, however, also discovered that acceptance is not uniform, varying greatly from city to city and state to state.

That might ultimately prove to be a stumbling block for the newly approved federal healthcare law. The new law is expected to bolster the already-soaring demand for healthcare jobs. Among these jobs are for medical office assistant, registered nurse, pharmacist, clinical laboratory technician, physical therapist, occupational therapist, paramedic, and massage therapist.

According to an article for kaiserhealthnews.org, Health Affairs reported that Wyoming boasts the highest acceptance rate at 99 percent, while New Jersey has the lowest at just 40 percent. Big states such as Texas, California, Florida, and New York reported rates that are statistically similar to the national average.

Sandra Decker, the study author and an economist at the CDC, cautioned that the law’s two-year pay boost may not be able to deliver the expected impact because of its short duration. She noted that despite the pay raise being due in less than five months, she’s unaware of any state that has already bolstered its efforts to recruit Medicaid doctors. This on top of reports of administrative red tape in getting paid encountered by doctors with Medicaid patients.

At any rate, the physicians’ participation in Medicaid will be seen as an important barometer of patients’ access to care—and a crucial gauge for success for the newly minted healthcare law.

Meditec.com, a portal of e-learning hub 360training.com, offers medical office assistant training, pharmacy technician training, and other healthcare education.

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2 New OSHA Courses for Mercury Safety

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. worksite-safety watchdog, has released two new educational resources to help educate and protect workers from the dangers of mercury exposure while crushing and recycling traditional fluorescent tubes and the more modern and smaller compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).

Although OSHA training—OSHA 10 training and OSHA 30, for example—is now a pre-employment requirement by many employers, many workers continue to be exposed to avoidable worksite hazards because of employer ignorance, negligence, or plain disregard of basic health and safety standards. 

Fluorescent lights are more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, but they contain dangerous amounts of mercury, the gas that makes these lighting fixtures fluoresce. The proliferation of fluorescents in residences and in industry calls for more vigilance and better education among workers who dispose of or recycle used fluorescent lights.

Fluorescent lights, when they are broken or crushed, can expose workers doing disposal or recycling to mercury. And depending on the length and level of exposure, mercury can damage the nervous system, causing kidney problems, tremors, even damage to unborn children in the case of pregnant workers.

The OSHA fact sheet describes how workers can be exposed to mercury, recommends the kinds of engineering controls and personal protective equipment they need to avoid inadvertent poisoning, and how to use these controls and equipment correctly. A new OSHA Quick Card* alerts employers and workers to the hazards of mercury, and informs them on how to properly clean up broken fluorescent bulbs to minimize exposure to mercury.

OSHACampus.com provides OSHA training online coursework to teach workers how to identify and avoid worksite hazards, as well as inform them of the employer’s duty to keep them safe at all times.

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OSHA Opens Nominations to NACOSH

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. worksite-safety watchdog, announced on July 25 that it has opened nominations for four members to serve on the 12-member National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH).

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 established NACOSH to advise the Secretaries of Labor and Health and Human Services on the administration of the Act.

OSHA training, such as OSHA 10 training and OSHA 30, is today required by many employers as an employment requisite, and its adoption by all employers is strongly encouraged by OSHA.

OSHA said that nominations will be accepted for one representative from each of these categories: management, occupational health, occupational safety, and public. Each member will serve a two-year term.

Also according to the agency, nominations may be submitted at www.regulations.gov, the Federal eRulemaking Portal, or sent by mail or facsimile. Or nominations by mail, hand delivery or messenger service, OSHA requires three copies to the OSHA Docket Office, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20210, with phone number 202-693-2350. Deadline for the submission of nominations has been set for September 10, 2012.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 mandates that employers are responsible for providing keeping worksites and workplaces safe and healthful for all their workers. OSHA has been designated as watchdog, ensuring that these conditions are dutifully met.

OSHACampus.com provides OSHAcampus.com training online coursework to teach workers how to identify and avoid worksite hazards to keep them safe and healthy in their places of work at all times.

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12K Healthcare Jobs in July

After the great debate at the Supreme Court and the brouhaha after the Obama Healthcare Plan got the nod, the healthcare industry quickly demonstrated its clout on the job market by adding 12,000 jobs to the national economy in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported recently.

The report validates earlier indications that demand for healthcare was soaring, with most of the job openings expected for medical office assistant, registered nurse, pharmacist, clinical laboratory technician, physical therapist, occupational therapist, paramedic, and massage therapist (not necessarily in that order).

For starters, nonfarm payroll employment hit 163,000 in July, even as the unemployment rate essentially held steady at 8.3 percent. Significantly, the total number of unemployed persons, at 12.8 million, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged in July, both showing little movement in fact since the beginning of this year.

Ambulatory care services accounted for the biggest growth area in the healthcare sector, with 8,900 jobs. Nursing and residential care facilities, on the other hand, were the only negatives, shedding 2,200 jobs.

In comparison, June 2012 added 64,000 jobs to the economy, 13,000 of them healthcare jobs. May 2012 was significantly more robust though, with healthcare growing by a whopping 33,000 jobs.

The BLS report also indicated that employment improved in professional and business services, food services, and drinking places and manufacturing.

Meditec.com, a portal of e-learning hub 360training.com, offers medical office assistant training, pharmacy technician training, and other healthcare education. Click here to visit us.

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BP Settles for Over $13 million for Abate Violations

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced that the agency and BP Products North America Inc. have resolved most (409 of 439) citations issued by it in October 2009. BP agreed to pay $13,027,000 in penalties and has already stopped some violations and is in the process of abating the rest, with the end of 2012 as its deadline.

OSHA reported that most of BP’s infractions were willful violations of OSHA's process-safety management (PSM) standard at the oil company’s refinery in Texas City, Texas.

Although OSHA safety training—OSHA 10 training and OSHA 30, for example—is now a pre-employment requirement by many employers, many workers continue to be exposed to avoidable worksite hazards because of employer ignorance, negligence, or plain disregard of basic health and safety standards.

"Protecting workers and saving lives is the ultimate goal of this agreement," pointed out Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "For the workers at BP's Texas City refinery, this settlement will help establish a culture of safety. The workers who help keep our nation's oil and gas industries running deserve to go to work each day without fear of losing their lives."

According to OSHA, in September 2005 it cited BP for a record $21 million following the catastrophic explosion at its Texas City facility that killed 15 workers in March 2005. OSHA and BP later came to an agreement that compelled BP to correct its deficiencies.

In a follow-up investigation in 2009, OSHA discovered that BP had failed to correct many items in the agreement, which resulted in 270 failure-to-abate notices and in BP agreeing to pay a penalty of $50.6 million to resolve the notices. In addition, OSHA cited BP for 439 willful violations of the agency's PSM standard. The new citations carried $30.7 million in proposed penalties.

"Make no mistake, the scope of this [new] agreement should send a clear signal that OSHA is committed to ensuring BP takes seriously the safety and health of America's most important natural resource – its workers," stated Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.

OSHACampus.com provides OSHA training online coursework to teach workers how to identify and avoid worksite hazards, as well as inform them of the employer’s duty to keep them safe at all times. Visit us now!

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Obama Says Healthcare Ruling a Victory for All

The recent Supreme Court's landmark healthcare ruling drew praise from President Obama, who said that "it's time for us to move forward to implement and, where necessary, improve."

Obama took special note of the provisions of the law that he explained will for the first time provide health insurance for nearly all Americans when it is fully implemented in 2014. He allayed fears that millions of Americans have to give up their current insurance plans.

The new healthcare law is expected to bolster the already-soaring demand for healthcare jobs. Among these jobs are for medical office assistant, registered nurse, pharmacist, clinical laboratory technician, physical therapist, occupational therapist, paramedic, and massage therapist.

The president’s statements came shortly after the Supreme Court upheld his proposed healthcare law, which earlier had incited much political debate. The decision is available on the Supreme Court website.

A majority of the justices essentially said that the individual mandate—the controversial requirement that most Americans purchase health insurance or be fined—can be likened to a tax and thus is constitutional.

"Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness," Chief Justice John Roberts pointed out in his opinion.

Obama took pains to point out that, "it should be pretty clear by now that I didn't do this because it was good politics—I did it because I believed it was good for the country."

Meditec.com, a portal of e-learning hub 360training.com, provides medical office assistant training as well as pharmacy technician training and other healthcare education. Visit us today!

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OSHA Opens Nominations to NACOSH, BP Settles with OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced on July 25 that it was now accepting nominations for four members to serve on the 12-member National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH), which advises the Secretaries of Labor and Health and Human Services on the administration of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

OSHA said that nominations will be accepted for one representative from each of the following areas: management, occupational health, occupational safety, and public. Each member serves a two-year term.

OSHA occupational safety training, such as OSHA 10 training and OSHA 30, is today required by many employers as an employment requisite, and its adoption by all employers is strongly encouraged by OSHA.

Also according to the agency, nominations may be submitted at www.regulations.gov, the Federal eRulemaking Portal, or sent by mail or facsimile. Or nominations by mail, hand delivery or messenger service, OSHA requires three copies to the OSHA Docket Office, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20210, with phone number 202-693-2350. Deadline for the submission of nominations has been set for September 10, 2012.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 mandates that employers are responsible for providing keeping worksites and workplaces safe and healthful for all their workers. OSHA has been designated as watchdog, ensuring that these conditions are dutifully met.

Meanwhile, OSHA also announced that the agency and BP Products North America Inc. have resolved most (409 of 439) citations issued by it in October 2009. BP agreed to pay $13,027,000 in penalties and has already stopped some violations and is in the process of abating the rest, with the end of 2012 as its deadline.

OSHA reported that most of BP’s infractions were willful violations of OSHA’s process-safety management (PSM) standard at the oil company’s refinery in Texas City, Texas.

“Protecting workers and saving lives is the ultimate goal of this agreement,” pointed out Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “For the workers at BP’s Texas City refinery, this settlement will help establish a culture of safety. The workers who help keep our nation’s oil and gas industries running deserve to go to work each day without fear of losing their lives.”

According to OSHA, in September 2005 it cited BP for a record $21 million following the catastrophic explosion at its Texas City facility that killed 15 workers in March 2005. OSHA and BP later came to an agreement that compelled BP to correct its deficiencies.

In a follow-up investigation in 2009, OSHA discovered that BP had failed to correct many items in the agreement, which resulted in 270 failure-to-abate notices and in BP agreeing to pay a penalty of $50.6 million to resolve the notices. In addition, OSHA cited BP for 439 willful violations of the agency’s PSM standard. The new citations carried $30.7 million in proposed penalties.

“Make no mistake, the scope of this [new] agreement should send a clear signal that OSHA is committed to ensuring BP takes seriously the safety and health of America’s most important natural resource – its workers,” stated Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.

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He-wax Gets the Trousers Down, Full Compliance with IFRA Standards Reported

Now that “metrosexual” has graduated from the fringe to the mainstream—as most U.S. beauty professionals, such as those who have a cosmetology license or cosmetology CE credentials well know—a new but natural addition to the menfolk’s brave march to the beauty salons has hit the headlines once more: he-wax.

Not that men have gotten any braver in the short time it took to say without flinching “I’m going to the beauty salon, Dear,” but the nouveau trend to be more groomed has driven more and more men to seek measures hitherto reserved for the ladies. And that, painfully, now includes depilation of the gentlemen’s nether parts.
The New York Times says the eponymous named he-wax (men’s bikini waxing, or Boyzilian, for the uninitiated) has caught the beauty industry with its pants down.

It reports that he-wax now accounts for a big percentage of the business in some shops—for instance, as much as 70 percent of the weekly business at Face to Face, an off-the-beaten-track male salon in Manhattan. “In the past two years, it’s been crazy,” said proprietor Enrique Ramirez in the Times article. For $85 per rip, men of straight or not-so-gay persuasion are more than willing to drop their trousers.

As with she-wax, salon aestheticians strongly recommend aftercare, the risk of infection being heightened because of ingrown hairs, particularly where the hair was originally thick and curly. They advise for the next 24 hours after depilation abstaining from hot baths, workouts, and anything that can get the defuzzed area overheated. For some men, unfortunately, that might include the steamy romp in bed, too.

And some more good news. All perfumes evaluated within the sixth cycle of the IFRA Compliance Program, which covers the period May 2011 to May 2012, were found to be fully compliant with the IFRA Code of Practice, according to the International Fragrance Association (IFRA) through a statement.

IFRA is the official representative body of the worldwide fragrance industry. Its stated mission is to ensure through a dedicated scientific program that fragrance products available worldwide are safe to use.
Every year, the IFRA conducts, through an independent testing laboratory, a series of tests that check for the presence of prohibited or regulated substances in selected fragrance formulations that are available on the global market.

The latest batch involved 50 fragranced products that included not just fine fragrances but also body-care products and household products randomly chosen from 450 marketed products from ten different countries.

“This sixth cycle of our compliance program has once again demonstrated that the standards are adhered to. Our objective at IFRA is to ensure the safety of fragrance products for the consumer and the environment,” stated IFRA president Pierre Sivac. “We look to achieve this by evaluating the safety of ingredients through the industry’s research centre, RIFM, and by setting industry policy based on the outcome of exhaustive independent reviews of the results by a panel of experts. Our industry has collectively undertaken the responsibility of enacting this compliance program to ensure that the IFRA standards are respected and I am very pleased that the results of this latest cycle show 100 percent compliance.”

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Obama Says Healthcare Ruling a Victory for All, 12K Healthcare Jobs in July

The recent Supreme Court’s landmark healthcare ruling drew praise from President Obama, who said that “it’s time for us to move forward to implement and, where necessary, improve.”

Obama took special note of the provisions of the law that he explained will for the first time provide health insurance for nearly all Americans when it is fully implemented in 2014. He allayed fears that millions of Americans have to give up their current insurance plans.

The new healthcare law is expected to bolster the already-soaring demand for healthcare jobs. Among these jobs are for medical office assistant, registered nurse, pharmacist, clinical laboratory technician, physical therapist, occupational therapist, paramedic, and massage therapist.

The president’s statements came shortly after the Supreme Court upheld his proposed healthcare law, which earlier had incited much political debate. The decision is available on the Supreme Court website.

A majority of the justices essentially said that the individual mandate—the controversial requirement that most Americans purchase health insurance or be fined—can be likened to a tax and thus is constitutional.

“Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness,” Chief Justice John Roberts pointed out in his opinion.

Obama took pains to point out that, “it should be pretty clear by now that I didn’t do this because it was good politics—I did it because I believed it was good for the country.”

After the great debate at the Supreme Court nod, the healthcare industry quickly demonstrated its clout on the job market by adding 12,000 jobs to the national economy in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported recently.

For starters, nonfarm payroll employment hit 163,000 in July, even as the unemployment rate essentially held steady at 8.3 percent. Significantly, the total number of unemployed persons, at 12.8 million, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged in July, both showing little movement in fact since the beginning of this year.

Ambulatory care services accounted for the biggest growth area in the healthcare sector, with 8,900 jobs. Nursing and residential care facilities, on the other hand, were the only negatives, shedding 2,200 jobs.

In comparison, June 2012 added 64,000 jobs to the economy, 13,000 of them healthcare jobs. May 2012 was significantly more robust though, with healthcare growing by a whopping 33,000 jobs.

The BLS report also indicated that employment improved in professional and business services, food services, and drinking places and manufacturing.
Meditec.com, a portal of e-learning hub 360training.com, offers medical office assistant training, pharmacy technician training, and other healthcare education.

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OSHA Slates Training Event, Seeks Nominations to FACOSH

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are keeping the federal agency staff responsible for keeping federal workers healthy and safe on its toes. The OSHA Training Institute (OTI) and OSHA's Office of Federal Agency Programs have slated a series of training seminars this July that would put safety programs of federal workplaces on a par with those of the private sector.

Fifty-three federal worker deaths in fiscal 2010 and 30,000 federal workers' compensation claims backdrop the event, lending not just relevance to the seminars but also some urgency. The training event is designed to give federal managers a leg up in putting in place and managing their injury-and-illness-prevention programs.

Although online OSHAcampus.com training—for instance, OSHA 10 training and OSHA 30 —is now a pre-employment requirement by many employers, many workers continue to be unnecessarily exposed to avoidable worksite hazards because of employer ignorance, negligence, or plain disregard of basic health and safety standards. The three-day event—to be held from July 31 to August 2, 2012 at the OSHA Training Institute, 2020 South Arlington Heights Rd., Arlington Heights, IL.—comprises daily seminars on  hazard communication, ergonomics issues, indoor air quality, and workplace violence, among other topics.

According to OSHA, government-agency personnel who will attend the training courses are exempt from tuition and other fees. Federal government contractors and private sector attendees, however, are required to pay tuition. Registration for the event is open until July 24, 2012. Students can access registration forms, course descriptions and other details at www.osha.gov/dep/fap/fedweek_fy12.html.

OSHA also announced that it is now accepting nominations for six new members to serve on the 16-member Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH), which advises the Secretary of Labor on issues concerning the occupational safety and health of federal employees.

FACOSH also extends help to the Secretary and OSHA with their programs and initiatives to minimize the number and seriousness of injuries and illnesses in the federal workforce, as well as encourages each federal executive branch department and agency to carry out effective occupational safety and health programs. The nominations, according to OSHA, are limited to three labor organization representatives and three federal agency management representatives. Each member will have a term of no more than three years.

OSHA stated that nominations may be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov, or by mail or fax. All nominations must be submitted by September 4, 2012.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 mandates that employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their workers. OSHA ensures that these conditions are met by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance to organizations, employers, and employees.

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