DAOHN Gov't Affairs Jan 15

DAOHN Update Govt Affairs
CDC Investigating 43-State Salmonella Outbreak
Changes to NIOSH-Approved Spirometry Training Program Begin 2009
FMLA Final Regulations Become Effective January 16, 2009
Michigan Draft Ergonomics Standard Under Fire from Business Groups

CDC Investigating 43-State Salmonella Outbreak
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is collaborating with public health officials in many states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate a multi-state outbreak of human infections due to Salmonella serotype Typhimurium.
Preliminary analysis of an epidemiologic study conducted by CDC and public health officials in multiple states comparing foods eaten by ill and well persons has suggested peanut butter as a likely source. To date, no association has been found with common brand names of peanut butter sold in grocery stores.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture Laboratory isolated the outbreak strains of Salmonella Typhimurium from an open 5-pound container of King Nut brand creamy peanut butter. The product is distributed in Minnesota to establishments such as long-term care facilities, hospitals, schools, universities, restaurants, delis, cafeterias, and bakeries. It is not sold directly to consumers and is not known to be distributed for retail sale in grocery stores.

Updates on the outbreak and investigation can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/typhimurium/.
Changes to NIOSH-Approved Spirometry Training Program Begin 2009

Two important program changes to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Spirometry Training Program will take effect January 1, 2009.

First, a time limitation will be placed on the certificates awarded to students who successfully complete NIOSH-approved spirometry training. Second, NIOSH will begin reviewing and approving dedicated spirometry refresher training courses designed for technicians who have previously completed a NIOSH-approved spirometry course and are seeking recertification.

For additional information contact Lu-Ann Beeckman-Wagner at lbb3@cdc.gov.

Visit the NIOSH Spirometry Training Course Web page at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/spirometry/.

FMLA Final Regulations Become Effective January 16, 2009

The Final Regulations of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) were crafted from over 4,600 public comments and implement two important new military family leave entitlements for eligible specified family members.
The Final Regulations (PDF) implement:
1. Up to 12 weeks of leave for certain qualifying exigencies arising out of a covered military member's active duty status, or notification of an impending call or order to active duty status, in support of a contingency operation, and
2. Up to 26 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member recovering from a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty. Eligible employees are entitled to a combined total of up to 26 weeks of all types of FMLA leave during the single 12-month period.
For more information, including links to the entire Rule (200+ page PDF) and a summary fact sheet (4 page PDF) visit http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/finalrule.htm.
NIOSH Guide Available for Improving Worker Health and Well-being
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has a guide for employers and employer-employee partnerships wishing to establish effective workplace programs that sustain and improve worker health.

The guide, Essential Elements of Effective Workplace Programs and Policies for Improving Worker Health and Well-being, is a key part of the NIOSH WorkLife Initiative, which is intended to identify and support comprehensive approaches to reduce workplace hazards and promote worker health and well-being. Essential Elements document identifies twenty components of a comprehensive work-based health protection and health promotion program and includes both guiding principles and practical direction for organizations seeking to develop effective workplace programs.

The guide is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/worklife/essentials.html.
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E-Prescribing Initiative on Medicare Calendar for 2009

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that physicians and other eligible professionals who adopt and use qualified electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) systems to transmit prescriptions to pharmacies may earn an incentive payment of 2.0 percent of their total Medicare allowed charges during 2009.

The initiative is included in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule for calendar year 2009. This incentive is in addition to a 2.0 percent incentive payment for 2009 for physicians who successfully report measures under the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI), and both incentive payments are in addition to the 1.1 percent fee schedule update required by the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA). Thus, a physician who successfully reports under both the e-prescribing and PQRI initiatives could receive up to a 5.1 percent pay boost for 2009.

Widespread adoption of electronic prescribing can eliminate medication errors that result from the misreading of handwritten prescriptions. Medicare beneficiaries may also have reduced out-of-pocket costs as e-prescribing facilitates communication between prescribers and pharmacies on lower-cost generic alternatives.

Find out more about the CMS initiative at
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press/release.asp?Counter=3330&intNumPerPage=10&checkDate=&checkKey=&srchType=1&numDays=3500&srchOpt=0&srchData=&keywordType=All&chkNewsType=1%2C+2%2C+3%2C+4%2C+5&intPage=&showAll=&pYear=&year=&desc=&cboOrder=date.

Michigan Draft Ergonomics Standard Under Fire from Business Groups
Michigan’s business and manufacturing groups want to halt efforts to adopt a mandatory workplace ergonomics standard in the state. They have fought hard against the standard from the start, and the worsening economic crisis has given them a new weapon. Calling on Gov. Jennifer Granholm to kill the process, they argue the standard is unnecessary and a job killer. A key vote is due this week.

Commissions set up by state regulators are scheduled to take a preliminary—but key—vote on potential rules this week.

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) released a new draft of the standard in 2008. Four years in the making, it is designed to reduce occupational risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

Its opponents see it as a financial drain in a state already hard hit by the nation’s economic downturn. A coalition including the National Federation of Independent Business argued at a Lansing news conference on January 9 that the rules are not needed because many employers voluntarily make improvements aimed at reducing the number of workplace injuries caused by repetitive movements. They say mandatory ergonomics training and reporting would raise the cost of doing business at a time many employers are struggling because of Michigan's poor economy.