Respiratory compliance doesn’t have to be complicated! Mobile Health has spent 38 years educating acute care organizations and creating fit testing solutions to make OSHA compliance effortless. These 4 tips will help make compliance with OSHA’s Respiratory Protection Standard 1910.134 effortless.
1. MEDICAL EVALUATIONS MUST BE COMPLETED PRIOR TO FIT TESTING
Medical evaluations are required by OSHA to ensure your employee can wear a respirator without posing a health risk. In the past, medical evaluations were completed face-to-face at a doctor’s office, separate from a respirator fit testing appointment. Now with Mobile Health’s online medical evaluations, employees can complete their medical evaluation whenever, wherever they want prior to their fit testing appointment. Each medical evaluation will be reviewed by our PLHCPs, and the results will be sent to the same Client Portal as all respirator fit testing results, helping you to comply with OSHA recordkeeping protocols. Fit tests can be scheduled at our 6,500+ nationwide clinics or you can bring our on-site team to your location to fit test all staff in one go.
2. EMPLOYEES SHOULD BE FITTED FOR MULTIPLE RESPIRATORS
For many of our acute care partners, we perform multiple fit tests for each employee, clearing them to wear more than one type of respirator throughout the year. This is a great safety measure in case of a PPE shortage. A respirator fit test only clears your employee to wear one make, model, and size of respirator. For instance, if you performed two tests, you could clear your employee to wear a ‘3M Aura Particulate N95 Respirator 9205+’ and a ‘PHG (Protective Health Gear) N95 Mask’ in their proper sizes. Mobile Health can perform multiple fit tests per employee through our on-site teams and 6,500+ fit testing clinics.
3. YOU CAN PERFORM RESPIRATOR FIT TESTING YOURSELF
There is no certification required to perform respirator fit testing. Any member of your workforce can become a respirator fit tester. You simply need to appoint staff members to undergo training and become your designated fit testers. The Mobile Health Fit Kit™ provides training, supplies, documentation, and reporting technology for a turnkey in-house program. Many of our acute care partners test all employees through our on-site teams and then utilize our Fit Kit™ for testing new hires along the way.
4. MEDICAL EVALUATIONS MUST BE STORED FOR ENTIRETY OF EMPLOYMENT + 30 YEARS
The biggest mistake we see acute care facilities make when it comes to respiratory compliance is recordkeeping of medical evaluations. OSHA requires these records to be kept on file for the duration of each staff member’s employment, plus 30 years past employment. Whether you have a small facility or a national network, this can add up to hundreds of thousands of records and a stressful ongoing effort for your HR and compliance department. When you choose Mobile Health’s online OSHA medical evaluations, we take care of the recordkeeping for you. And as we have been around for 38 years, your documents aren’t going anywhere. They will be safe and organized in our HIPAA-compliant client portal.
4. MEDICAL EVALUATIONS MUST BE STORED FOR ENTIRETY OF EMPLOYMENT + 30 YEARS
Let’s get started! No matter if you have a current provider or in-house program, our respiratory protection consultants will help you create a more efficient way to protect your staff and maintain compliance. Between our online OSHA medical evaluations, on-site respirator fit testing teams, 6,500+ locations, and DIY Fit Kit™, you will save time, cut costs, and get some much-needed peace of mind.
