The American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) is urging members who are also part of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to vote on two important health care codes at NFPA’s annual conference in June.

Although the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services just adopted the 2012 editions of NFPA 99 and NFPA 101 in November, NFPA is pressing on and reviewing changes for the 2018 editions.

“ASHE has been working hard to align all of the various codes and standards to have less overlap, fewer gaps and fewer code conflicts,” writes Chad Beebe, AIA, SASHE, ASHE's deputy executive director. “This work doesn’t happen over one code development cycle, however. Aligning the codes is a long process that occurs over several editions. Each code cycle is a chance for negotiations with code development committees to draw the boundary lines between codes to ensure that the codes don’t overlap, which is where most of the conflicts occur. To maintain these boundaries, continuous involvement in the development of the codes and standards is necessary.”

USP in second round of sterile compounding facility standard revisions

The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is revising its 797 standard, which governs sterile preparation spaces for pharmaceutical compounding. USP received more than 8,000 comments from more than 2,500 stakeholders from Sept. 25, 2015, to Jan. 31, 2016, regarding the rule.

Based on the number of comments, USP will publish the revised chapter for a second round of public comments before issuing the final standard. At this time, USP does not have an anticipated date for the chapter’s republication. 

Sherry Umhoefer, R.Ph., and Chris Beebe, R.Ph., from the Memphis, Tenn.-based Comprehensive Pharmacy Services, offer several suggestions and compliance advice for designing hospital pharmacies and preparing for USP 797.

OSHA issues final rule on beryllium in medical and other workplaces

A new rule issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration dramatically lowers workplace exposure to beryllium, a material that has great benefit in medical and other industries, but that also can cause health risks such as lung disease if overexposed.

Beryllium is a strong, lightweight metal used in the aerospace, electronics, energy, telecommunication and defense industries. It also has applications in the medical field; for instance, it is a critical material used in dental labs and offices.

The new standards for general industry, construction and shipyards will require employers to take additional, practical measures to protect an estimated 62,000 workers from serious health risks.

CareFusion recalls Alaris syringe pump due to an alarm error

CareFusion is recalling the Alaris Syringe Pump because of a faulty Air-In-Line sensor which may generate a false alarm and cause the syringe pump to stop supplying the infusion to the patient. The false alarm may be repeated and require the health care provider to clear the alarm to restart the infusion. An interruption of infusion could lead to serious adverse health consequences or death.