Electronic prescribing becomes mandatory in 2022 under Assembly Bill 2789 passed in 2018. By January 2022, all healthcare practitioners authorized to issue prescriptions must be able to electronically transmit prescriptions for both controlled and non-controlled substances. The law, however, provides…
In early May, a cybercriminal organization named Darkside used ransomware to paralyze the Colonial Pipeline Co., prompting a shutdown of the 5,500 mile pipeline that carries 45% of the fuel used on the East Coast. This quickly led to a…
On May 13, 2021 the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) amended its Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People with two significant changes to the guidelines: Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask…
On April 29, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) is planning to update the NIST Special Publication (SP) 800—66, Revision 1, An Introductory…
On April 27th, 2021, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updates to two COVID-19 guidance documents, with the pertinent sections applicable to dental healthcare personnel and the general public summarized below. 1. The Updated Healthcare Infection…
In 2007, the American Heart Association (AHA) revised its evidence-based Guidelines for the Prevention of Infective Endocarditis, asserting its position on which patients should take precautionary antibiotics to prevent infective endocarditis (IE) before a trip to the dentist. The 2007…
Due to the mass COVID-19 vaccination programs throughout the country, there is currently a higher than normal demand for sharps containers cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for contaminated sharps waste. In the event that a container…
CE WAIVER EXTENSION: The California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) released an updated Waiver Notice, dated March 30, 2021, to extend the continuing education (CE) requirements for California dental licensees whose active licenses expire between March 31, 2020, and May…
Cal/OSHA requires every California employer to establish, implement and maintain a written Injury and Illness Prevention Program, and to maintain a copy at each workplace. The requirements for establishing, implementing and maintaining an effective written injury and illness prevention program…
In February 2021, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced proposed updates to the Hazard Communication (Hazcom) Standard to align with the seventh revision of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). The amendments…
