profession
AHA objects to OSHA oversight of resident work hours
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Nov. 29, 2010
The American Hospital Assn. has asked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration not to regulate resident work hours.
The association wrote a letter to OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels, PhD, MPH, in response to a Sept. 2 petition from the consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen and others. The groups asked the agency to take over the regulation duties from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education because of health concerns for sleep-deprived residents.
But the AHA said the ACGME's expertise make it "best-positioned" to oversee duty hours. The council released new standards Sept. 28, including shorter shifts for first-year residents.
"America's hospitals are committed to providing safe, high-quality care, and we believe that ACGME's new limits on resident duty hours offer the best approach to ensuring that resident education and training remain safe and effective," according to the AHA's Nov. 16 letter (link).
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/11/29/prbf1129.htm.