California Code of Regulations › Title 16 - Professional and Vocational Regulations › Division 39 - Board of Occupational Therapy › Article 8 - Service Delivery Standards › Section 4175 - Minimum Standards for Infection Control

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) Occupational Therapists and Occupational
				Therapy Assistants must comply with all applicable Standard
				Precautions.
(b) Standard
				Precautions combine the major features of Universal Precautions and Body
				Substance Isolation and are based on the principle that all blood, body fluids,
				secretions, excretions (except sweat), non-intact skin, and mucus membranes may
				contain transmissible infectious agents. All contact with these substances is
				treated as if known to be infectious for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV),
				Hepatitis, and other transmissible infectious agents. Standard Precautions are
				also intended to protect patients/clients by ensuring that occupational therapy
				personnel do not carry infectious agents to patients/clients on their hands or
				via equipment used during delivery of occupational therapy services. Standard
				Precautions must be used in the care of all patients/clients, regardless of
				suspected or confirmed infection status, in all settings in which occupational
				therapy services are delivered. Standard Precautions include:
(1) Proper Hand Hygiene
(A) Avoid unnecessary touching of face, nose
				and surfaces in close proximity to the patient to prevent both contamination of
				clean hands from environmental surfaces and transmission of pathogens from
				contaminated hands to surfaces, during the delivery of healthcare.
(B) When hands are visibly soiled, hands
				shall be washed with soap and water for a 20-second scrub and 10-second rinse
				or an antimicrobial hand wash
(C)
				If hands are not visibly soiled, an acceptable alternative of hand
				decontamination is with an alcohol-based hand rub (except in cases of spores,
				as described below).
(D) Hands
				shall be washed or decontaminated as follows:
1. Before having direct contact with any
				patient/client.
2. After contact
				with blood, body fluids or excretions, mucous membranes, non-intact skin, or
				wound dressings.
3. After contact
				with a patient's/client's intact skin (e.g., when assisting with
				bathing/dressing or lifting a patient).
4. If hands will be moving from a
				contaminated-body site to a clean-body site during patient/client
				care.
5. After contact with
				inanimate objects (including medical equipment) in the immediate vicinity of
				the patient/client.
6. After
				removing gloves.
(E)
				Artificial fingernails or extenders shall not be worn if duties include direct
				contact with patients at high risk for infection and associated adverse
				outcomes (e.g., those in ICUs or special care units).
(F) After each patient/client session ends, a
				practitioner shall wash hands with soap and water or an antimicrobial hand wash
				if contact with spores (e.g.,
C. difficile
or
Bacillus
				anthracis
) is likely to have occurred. The physical action of washing
				and rinsing hands under such circumstances is required because alcohols,
				chlorhexidine, iodophors, and other antiseptic agents have poor activity
				against spores.