Okla. Admin. Code § 310:667-5-4

Current through Vol. 42, No. 7, December 16, 2024

Section 310:667-5-4 - Employee and/or worker health examinations

(a)Pre-employment. Each employee and/or worker (with or without patient care responsibilities, paid or volunteer, full-time or part-time: physicians, nurses, emergency medical personnel, dental professionals and students, medical and nursing students, laboratory and pharmacy workers, hospital volunteers, and administrative staff, including food service workers) in the hospital shall have a pre-employment health examination, which shall include (but not be limited to):

(1) An immunization history shall be part of each pre-employment examination or application for hospital privileges. The immunization history shall include documentation of immunity to measles, mumps, rubella and varicella.

(A) Birth before 1957 is considered acceptable evidence of immunity to measles, mumps, and rubella, with the exception that birth before 1957 is not acceptable evidence of immunity to rubella for female employees and/or workers born before 1957 who can become pregnant.

(B) Persons born in 1957 or later can be considered immune to measles, mumps or rubella only if they have documentation of one of the following:

(i) measles or mumps disease diagnosed by a physician or licensed independent practitioner;

(ii) laboratory evidence of measles, mumps, or rubella immunity; or

(iii) vaccination on or after the first birthday with two doses of live measles vaccine separated by at least 28 days, at least one dose of live mumps vaccine, and at least one dose of live rubella vaccine.

(C) Persons can be considered immune to varicella if they have a reliable history of having had varicella or if they have received one dose of varicella vaccine on or after the first birthday prior to the 13th birthday, or two doses of varicella vaccine separated by at least 28 days on or after the 13th birthday.

(D) Serologic screening need not be done before vaccinating against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella unless the facility considers it cost-effective.

(E) Serologic screening is not necessary for persons who have documentation of appropriate vaccination or other acceptable evidence of immunity to measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella.

(F) Contraindications to MMR or varicella vaccines should be followed.

(2) Hepatitis B vaccine shall be offered consistent with 29 CFR Section 1910.1030 (Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens).

(3) Each hospital shall meet Occupational Safety and Health Act standards applicable to the facility.

(b)Periodic health examinations. A test for tuberculosis shall be performed. All tests and examinations shall be in conformance with the "Tuberculosis Screening, Testing, and Treatment of U.S. Health Care Personnel: Recommendations from the National Tuberculosis Controllers Association and CDC, 2019" guidelines for preventing the transmissions of mycobacterium tuberculosis in healthcare settings as published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(1) Follow-up examinations for employees and/or workers who react significantly to a tuberculin skin test shall be conducted.

(2) Employees and/or workers with an initial negative chest x-ray, whether they take appropriate preventive therapy (treatment of latent tuberculosis infection) or not, shall be exempt from yearly, routine chest x-rays unless signs or symptoms suggestive of tuberculosis develop.

(3) Employees and/or workers with a documented reactive skin test and a proven negative chest x-ray, whether they have taken appropriate preventive therapy (treatment of latent tuberculosis infection) or not, shall be exempt from yearly, routine chest x-rays unless signs or symptoms suggestive of tuberculosis develop.

(4) Employees and/or workers with documented prior reactive tuberculin skin tests shall be seen yearly by medical personnel to determine if signs or symptoms are present. The results of such examinations shall be recorded on the individual employee's and/or worker's health record.

(c)Interim health examinations. Employees and/or workers, when found to be likely to transmit a communicable disease as determined by a physician or licensed independent practitioner, shall be removed from patient contact duties, consistent with state and federal laws, until such time as a physician or licensed independent practitioner certifies that the risk of transmission of communicable disease is within acceptable limits as defined by the infection control program in its written policies and procedures.

(d)Follow-up examinations. Follow-up of an employee and/or workers, who, while employed at the facility, is a contact to active tuberculosis:

(1) An employee and/or worker who is a known tuberculosis contact shall have a tuberculin skin test. If this test is reactive for the first time, the individual shall have a chest x-ray. If the individual with a reactive skin test does not take preventive medication (treatment of latent tuberculosis infection), the employee and/or worker shall be monitored.

(2) If an employee and/or worker is a known, recent tuberculosis contact, he or she shall have a tuberculin skin test and, if non-reactive, and if the individual is asymptomatic for tuberculosis, then a repeat tuberculin skin test shall be done in three (3) months. If the employee and/or worker is symptomatic, an x-ray shall be done immediately.

(3) If an employee and/or worker is a contact to active tuberculosis and has a documented previous reactive skin test, he or she shall be exempt from yearly, routine x-rays unless signs or symptoms develop suggestive of tuberculosis.

(e)Annual influenza vaccination program. Each hospital shall have an annual influenza vaccination program consistent with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices that shall include at least the following:

(1) The offer of influenza vaccination onsite, at no charge to all employees and/or workers in the hospital or acceptance of documented evidence of current season vaccination from another vaccine source or hospital;

(2) Documentation of vaccination for each employee and/or worker or a signed declination statement on record from each individual who refuses the influenza vaccination for other than medical contraindications; and

(3) Education of all employees and/or workers about the following:

(A) Influenza vaccination;

(B) Non-vaccine influenza control measures; and

(C) The symptoms, transmission, and potential impact of influenza.

(4) Each hospital influenza vaccination program shall conduct an annual evaluation of the program including the reasons for non-participation.

(5) The requirements to complete vaccinations or declination statements for each employee and/or worker may be suspended by the hospital's medical staff executive in the event of a shortage of vaccine as recognized by the Commissioner of Health.

(f)Health examination records. A file shall be maintained for each employee and/or worker, containing the results of the evaluations and examinations specified at OAC 310:667-5-4(a) through (d) and the dates of illnesses as relate to employment.

(g)Credentialing records. For credentialed non-employee workers, including physicians, hospitals may meet these requirements if as part of the credentialing process such workers provide evidence of an immunization history and tuberculin skin test, consistent with the tuberculosis control program required at 310:667-5-4(b), in the form of a signed attestation statement from the non-employee worker that documents the worker's immunization history and the date and results of the latest tuberculin skin test.

Okla. Admin. Code § 310:667-5-4

Added at 12 Ok Reg 1555, eff 4-12-95 (emergency); Added at 12 Ok Reg 2429, eff 6-26-95; Amended at 20 Ok Reg 1664, eff 6-12-03; Amended at 21 Ok Reg 2437, eff 7-11-05; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 2054, eff 6-25-09

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 37, Issue 24, September 1, 2020, eff. 9/11/2020