Creating Safer Workspaces: It’s Workplace Violence Prevention Awareness Month

April is Workplace Violence Prevention Awareness Month, a crucial time to reflect on the importance of safety and respect in all professional environments. While we often focus on physical hazards, workplace violence encompasses a broader range of unacceptable behaviors including verbal abuse, threats and intimidation.

Creating a safe and respectful workplace isn’t just a matter of policy; it’s a collective responsibility. MLMIC recognizes this critical safety issue as it pertains to medical office practices. Often, healthcare providers face difficult or disruptive patients, which can escalate into workplace violence for healthcare workers. According to the American Hospital Association, healthcare workers are five times more likely to experience workplace violence than workers in other fields.

The impact of workplace violence in the healthcare setting can be significant and can lead to:

• Physical and psychological harm for healthcare providers and staff
• Ineffective patient care and medical errors
• Increased absenteeism and turnover
• Job dissatisfaction
• Higher costs

The following are some recommendations to manage disruptive patients and visitors and decrease violent behaviors in the office practice.

Patient and visitor responsibilities. It is important to include information in your signage outlining the consequences of disruptive behavior. The signage should make behavior expectations clear and promote a zero-tolerance policy.

Education. It is imperative to educate staff on recognizing and reporting signs of aggression, as well as situations that may place a patient or visitor at risk for violent behavior. These situations include divorce, history of domestic violence, loss of job and decreased mental capacity. All staff should be trained on de-escalation techniques and understand the importance of contacting appropriate emergency and law enforcement agencies if necessary.

Develop a structure for violence reduction and response. In addition to policies and procedures, it is imperative to develop a plan to reduce and respond to workplace violence. The plan should be tailored for your specific office practice. It should identify responsibility for safety/security initiatives, clearly define unacceptable behaviors and establish a multidisciplinary group for violence prevention.

Get to know your staff. It’s wise to include pre-employment background checks for violence history when onboarding new staff. Allow for accommodations for employees with difficult situations by offering remote work hours, decreasing workloads or providing an escort at the end of the shift to ensure the employee safely arrives at their vehicle.

Practice is key. Drills are a crucial part of education. Walking through potential scenarios and using visual aids are imperative when training staff. Consider identifying and talking with your local law enforcement agency to understand how they respond to calls from the practice on threatening behavior. You can also ask for any community resources that may assist your practice in handling such behavior.

Let’s use this month to educate ourselves, engage in meaningful conversations and commit to building workplaces where everyone feels safe, valued and respected. A proactive approach to workplace violence prevention benefits us all.

MLMIC policyholders interested in learning more about managing disruptive patients or creating a safe work environment can contact our risk management department to schedule our educational program “Addressing the Disruptive Patient: Strategies for a Changing Dynamic” by submitting a request here.

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Sources

1. https://www.aha.org/news/perspective/2024-02-02-protecting-health-care-workers-who-care-us
2. https://www.jointcommission.org/standards/r3-report/r3-report-issue-30-workplace-violence-prevention-standards/
3. https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2007/0601/p1679.html
4. https://www.ahrq.gov/teamstepps-program/index.html

This document is for general purposes only and should not be construed as medical or legal advice. This document is not comprehensive and does not cover all possible factual circumstances. Because the facts applicable to your situation may vary, or the laws applicable in your jurisdiction may differ, please contact your attorney or other professional advisors for any questions related to legal, dental or professional obligations, the applicable state or federal laws or other professional questions.