When it is time for lunch or a coffee break, many physicians and health professionals find themselves trudging to the cafeteria or a designated break room to do so when often they’d be just as happy to nosh at their desks. Is that really required by food-safety regulations that apply in health care settings?
The Joint Commission does not have standards specifically addressing where employees can store or consume food and beverages. Instead, health care organizations are directed to follow licensure requirements laws and regulations, including the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Since health services are provided in a variety of areas with different types of risks, there is not a single standard that applies to all health care environments. Also, while OSHA sets standards that employers must follow, the agency does not determine the specific locations where any employees, including physicians and other health professionals, can have their meals.
The AMA is spreading that message as part of a series of “Debunking Regulatory Myths” articles that provide clarification to physicians and their care teams in an effort to reduce the administrative and other burdens that divert doctors’ attention from the delivery of patient care.
In this case, the intent behind clarifying this myth is to make it easier for physicians to take breaks for food in places that are convenient for their workflow.
The series is part of the AMA’s practice-transformation efforts and gives physicians and their care teams resources to reduce guesswork and administrative burdens so their focus can be on streamlining clinical workflow processes, improving patient outcomes and increasing satisfaction.
The AMA STEPS Forward® “Reducing Regulatory Burden Playbook” goes a step further, giving physicians specific strategies to avoid overinterpreting the rules and help advocate for changes in their health systems.
As the leader in physician well-being, the AMA is reducing physician burnout by removing administrative burdens and providing real-world solutions to help doctors rediscover the Joy in Medicine™.
OSHA aims to prevent toxic exposure
The OSHA standards are flexible. And while they do not dictate where food and beverages can be consumed, the agency does say where they cannot.
The agency's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard explicitly prohibits the consumption of food and beverages in areas where exposure or potential exposure to blood or other potentially infectious or toxic material could occur. This includes areas where the potential exists for work surfaces to be contaminated by or exposed to toxic material.
The standard extends to prohibiting the storage of food and beverages where blood or other potentially infectious or toxic materials are stored, including in refrigerators, freezers or cabinets or on shelves or counters.
So, if laboratory specimens are handled in the area in question, the OSHA standard would prohibit having food and drinks in that area.
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OSHA’s standards represent the minimum health and safety requirements. Employers can adopt more stringent requirements and health care organizations have an obligation to determine which of their locations are safe from potential contamination and which require stringent prohibitions regarding eating and drinking.
Employers should then tell staff which locations are safe places for a meal and where the consumption and storage of food and beverages is not allowed because of the potential for contamination.
There may be applicable state and local regulations that require adherence. The basic rule, however, is that food and drinks should never be consumed or stored where blood or bodily fluids are present.
Earn CME credit
Learn more with the “AMA Debunking Medical Practice Regulatory Myths Learning Series,” which is available on AMA Ed Hub™. For each topic completed, a physician can receive CME for a maximum of 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.
Physicians who would like clarification about a potentially misinterpreted rule or regulation that has burdened them or their care team are encouraged to reach out to AMA’s experts who will research the matter. If the concern turns out to be a bona fide regulation that unnecessarily diverts physicians’ time and focus away from their patients, the AMA can advocate for regulatory change.
