Employee Health and Wellness

Employee health and wellness. What does this mean to you and your employees? Does it mean having physicals, offering easy to access health care? A gym in the office? Posters that encourage taking the stairs over the elevator, the salad over the burger?

Whatever technique you utilize to reach employees and improve their quality of life - and your work place health and productivity, it’s a trend. Real money and even penalties are being utilized as incentives to improve staff health.



After all with high health care costs and employee absenteeism as areas to be avoiding in the workplace, employees are being encouraged greatly to take responsibility for being healthy. This encouragement is a part of an overall education and training program that helps employers stay in compliance in regard to working hours, healthcare for employees, and cost savings. If your staff isn’t healthy, how can they encourage patient health? If staff is unwell, absent, unable to work, or racking up disability claims, that benefits no one. A healthy staff is a happy staff, a regulation-compliant staff, and a staff that helps patients to be healthy and happy too. At MedTrainer, we encourage the nearly 90% of all employers who provide incentives for wellness, such as financial rewards, educational programs, exercise facilities, and more.



So what kind of incentives are popular in the workplace, and which work, and work well? It’s still in the experimental stage - what works better both as an incentive and in terms of the ultimate goal of improving employee health, lowering costs, and supporting employees.

Education and awareness are both crucial elements to help staff health. Offering rewards to complete activities designed to create greater health is key. Such rewards include financial incentives to encourage health program participation, and constructively evaluating health and other factors that make this education so important.

Whether staff members are filling out a questionnaire about medical history, diet and fitness, or participating in  biometric screenings for cholesterol, blood pressure and cancer risks, having participation incentives are key to encouraging large scale participation in such an endeavor. With around 90% of employers offering incentives for wellness, simple implementation is vital to identifying employee risk factors and encouraging healthy behavior. Telling staff about health risks and evaluating behavior may not in and of itself assist health and productivity in the work place but it’s a positive start. Data compiles will help you to assess health care needs in the work place as well as overall employee health.

But naturally, finding out this information isn’t necessarily it’s own reward. In fact, to the contrary, informing staff members about risk and advising them does not always lead to positive action. Often encouragement and incentives are offered to get employees to take action after an assessment. What kind of action?

Participating in  weight-management programs or receiving a preventive screening, participation in physical improvement programs and the like - these are the types of actions many employers reward.

And what kind of incentive? Primarily financial, this type of incentive encourages staff  to change unhealthy behaviors. Although in some cases, such incentives don’t encourage real change, rather they encourage participation in specific programs or activities.

Still it’s a step in the right direction, with the financial cost far below that incurred by work loss or poor health among staff. One healthy behavior can lead to another, with more beneficial tasks and changes leading to greater rewards.

Staff members, MedTrainer finds, enjoy the freedom to choose among many health activities, from fitness classes to diet training and weigh-ins. Hitting important healthy marks regarding levels of cholesterol, blood pressure and weight encourages long term participation in these goals.

Staff will be financially motivated to improve health and well being. The carrot is better than the stick: penalties for poor behavior or lack of participation in wellness programs does not lead to the same positive goals.

In short, outcome based assistance works the best. Employers who bind incentives and penalties to health indicators generally have healthier employees with better work habits, lower blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass.


A new survey by Virgin HealthMiles Inc. and Workforce Management Magazine, suggest some 77% of employees feel such programs improve morale, health, and happiness as well as performance on the job and satisfaction on the job.  It’s all about building a culture of health, which is the jumping off point for employers. Staff members become both more motivated and more productive, going beyond basic wellness to healthier behavior all around. It’s a complex process, building employee wellness and health.

There are, after all, legal issues that must be addressed: employers must provide workers who don't reach health targets an alternative method to earn incentives, and carefully evaluate what type of wellness programs and incentives to offer in the first place. Personalized interventions for example often work best, but it’s a fine line between obtaining optimal health goals and preventing the compromise of privacy.

Held annually, the APA’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award highlights employers who offer a broader look at employee well-being. Those organizations that utilize techniques that create a healthier work place find improved work quality and productivity, less absenteeism, less turnover, and over all better customer service ratings. Providing employees with work practices supporting well-being results in better performance for businesses and employees across the board. In the medical profession, patients receive better care, and offer higher satisfaction ratings for their providers.

In short: the road to a successful medical care community, whether we are looking at veterinary, medical, dental, or pharmaceutical care, begins with a work environment that’s health both physically and psychologically.
Of course, it can be a challenge  communicating wellness initiatives to employees. While health and wellness programs keep morale high, and staff healthy, economic responsibilities and the business of any medical practice can make it a steep climb to achieve real results.

But the overwhelming benefits of wellness programs are wide reaching. In fact, staff members often evaluate health and wellness offerings when choosing where to work.

From health care related incentives to mental health and depression programs - which have shown the most growth - to weight management, exercise programs, and educational programs, employee wellness programs and the incentives for employers to offer them and improve both health and performance over all are growing daily.



Making measurable progress in aligning workplace wellness programs with employees’ needs and interests is key to a successful wellness program. And how do you measure success? Well it should be based on improved company culture and health, improved workplace productivity and morale.

How to implement these programs? At MedTrainer, we perceive a number of important steps, including:

-Promoting preventative care, such as flu vaccines, on site.
-Encouraging exercise. Discounted group gym memberships perhaps? Promoting a lunchtime walking club? Offering incentives for exercise charting?
-Educating employees. What kind of education? Meditation? Yoga? Healthy eating, cooking classes? All of these greatly benefit.
 Emphasize education.
- Medical staff notoriously does not discuss employee health benefits. It’s as if staff is expected to already know what is best. Make the time to do care giving for your staff!
-Use incentive based reward programs, based on health markers like healthy body mass or blood sugar. What to reward? Prizes, financial rewards, or simple employee recognition.
-Consider snack or meal options that are healthy in the break room. When your staff gets busy, do you think they’ll find better food fuel with fruit and veggies or candy?
-Pay attention to stress levels. The medical profession is stressful, there can literally be life and death decisions. Don’t let unmanaged stress lead to job dissatisfaction, absences, or mental or physical health issues. Encourage appropriate breaks, offer behavioral resources.
-Provide compensation for or actual programs addressing disease management programs, life coaching, stress management programs.

Food, Health, and Economy: Local and Organic Options

Can you eat both well and economically? This is one of those quintessential questions, and we’re here to say - yes. Local, organic, healthy - these are all phrases that refer to foods that are good for you, but not necessarily your pocket book. At MedTrainer, we believe you can have it all - an enhanced quality of life, good food, and change in your pocket.



The cost savings available if you want to eat healthy, organic food, and choose locally sourced fresh food items, may not be visible year ‘round, unless you’re lucky enough to live where seasonal produce is always available.  But in regard to quality of life, supporting local vendors and purchasing organic, sustainable foods benefits you so much that healthcare costs are likely to be diminished - which will save you down the line. A healthy life style change eliminating fast food and reducing consumption of fatty foods and preservative filled grocery products may just save you so much money in healthcare costs that you won’t even wince when out of season grapes cost a lot more than that burger! Bidding farewell to high levels of sodium or sugar really can result in far less spent on medical and dental care in the future.


So what’s important to include in your diet? For us, purchasing fresh fish and organic veggies at a local farmer’s market beats having access to convenience foods like bottled water or individually packaged snacks. If you need to make a choice on what to spend your grocery funds on, then getting rid of convenience items, even healthy ones, can help you decide. And of course, if you are also eliminating candy and sodas from your diet - and your spending - then paying extra for fresh, sweet, organically grown berries makes better sense.

Cut meat from your diet, and it will add years of health, or so recent studies proclaim. It will also help the environment - according to Scientific American, meat production currently contributes  between 14 and 22 percent of the 36 billion tons of "CO2-equivalent" greenhouse gases produced worldwide, yearly! Assuming you’re alright with wheat, seitan contains about 31 grams of protein for every 4 ounces, contains no cholesterol or saturated fat, and is a good source of iron. One small 3 ounce portion of seitan offers about 118 calories and less than 1% unsaturated fat while the same amount of beef has 207 calories and 15-27% fats - and these days you can find many a faux chicken or beef product that you truly can’t tell isn’t the “real thing,” created from a microprotein, seitan, or gardein, the latter being a soy derivitive.



Now you might be someone who only buys organic grass fed beef, but that still doesn’t make meat green or sustainable. And livestock waste isn’t processed for sanitation - which harms our water supply and oceans. If you’re still a skeptic, think of the hungry, worldwide. About half of the world’s crops are now grown to feed livestock! If it wasn’t, the U.S. alone could feed, get this, 800 million hungry individuals. For farmers to produce just one pound of beef, they have to use an average of 2,400 gallons of water and 7 pounds of grain  - so, as the average American eats about 273 pounds of meat every year, even a moderate cut-backs in meat consumption could help the planet tremendously as well as your health.

Certainly going meatless will also save money, allowing you to purchase fresh caught sustainable fish or artisan cheeses with impunity.

So where do you buy those goodies? Are Farmers Markets important resources? Another strong affirmative. Although some items may cost more than grocery store or big box store produce, seasonally a lot of  products will be less expensive, based on where you live. For example, in California come strawberry season, you’ll find three packs of those berries for a lot less than grocery chains sell them for. The trick is to only purchase in-season produce whenever possible. Become a vegetable and fresh fruit adventurer! Would you really rather buy waxy, non-organic apples that are likely a year old at the grocery store? Or would you prefer sweet and fresh in-season nectarines, for less?

Another tip to cut prices and eat healthy is the use of bulk bins - and we don’t mean bulk bins full of gummy bears or candy! Nuts, hemp seeds, quinoa? Yes, much cheaper if they’re not pre-packaged. Just head for the bins you scoop these items from and then bag them yourself. These items are often fresher, too, as they’re not pre-packaged for a long shelf life. That’s a real win/win.

Cost savings aside and green-thinking aside, sometimes you have to do something simply for your own good! In the same way that the medical community has new compliance standards to adhere to, complying to a good-for-you diet might is just as important an adherence. MedTrainer brings efficient compliance training to the medical community - it’s up to you to bring efficient, healthy eating habits to your table.



Know the dirty dozen: if you don’t know this phrase as anything besides the title of an old Lee Marvin movie, it’s time you did. Some foods, such as bananas and avocados, whose skin you won’t eat anyway, are fine to buy in any form. But many others, like  apples and peaches, which you are going to eat skin and all,  are much less healthy. Why? Because pesticides and fertilizers will cling to the foods you eat. There’s a “seasoning” you don’t need!

Be aware of sodium - it’s not just the salt on the table, it’s in many pre-packaged foods, like bread, as a preservative. Check out local bakers that bake fresh bread - when products are designed to be eaten quickly or stored safely in your freezer until you need to use them, you won’t find anywhere near the same amount of salt and sugar that’s in commercially packaged bread. Guess what? Local bakeries will save you money too. And the difference between fresh baked bread and the stuff that came off the assembly line weeks ago - you can absolutely taste it.
When you buy smaller, and locally, there’s an extra bonus - get to know your vendors and you may find yourself getting that extra roll, or half-loaf.

Another tip - produce collectives. Sounds like something from the 60's involving tie-dye, but it is most assuredly of the moment. Farm collectives grow or buy seasonal fruits and veggies in bulk and distribute them at schools and community centers - or sometimes to your door - for a fee. There are some great bargains here if you’re willing to take the chance on what those items will be - could be basil, could be brussel sprouts.

So you’re thinking maybe, just maybe you can and should eat “better,” save costs, help save the planet, decrease your waistline? Good. Eating well can also make you simply feel better, too.

Feeling a little stressed out? Try a glass of half grapefruit, half cranberry juice. Grapefruit relaxes and stimulates, cranberry helps prevent a host of infections by actually changing your body’s acidity levels.

Need energy fast? It’s probably a protein crash. But before you reach for one of those heavy-on-the-sugar protein bars, try plain yogurt or cottage cheese with a tablespoon of sweet apple butter. You get the protein and the sweet, with less calories and less sugar. The pectin in the apple butter is good for your bones, too.

Feeling under the weather? Time for some vitamin C and the youth enhancing enzymes found only in - blueberries and blackberries. They make a good snack, too.

And if a sweet tooth is really biting you, give in. Try almonds, dark chocolate chips, dried banana slices  and dried cranberries or raisins. Go light as you can on the chocolate, and it’s a preservative-free, fruit-rich way to deal with those sugar cravings.

In short - you’ll help your health and your family’s, save costs, find great ideas to help your energy and weight - all by cutting out junk food, cutting back on meat, and avoiding convenience foods. You heard it here, from MedTrainer!

Allergic Reactions to Latex Gloves

Allergic reactions to latex gloves...just how common is this issue? What can you do when this situation occurs? You’ve heard about it, but what does it mean? Medtrainer can help you sort out how to handle this allergy and the compliance requirements associated with it.

Latex allergy refers to a wide range of allergic reactions to substances contained in natural latex. Allergic reactions to any substance will appear when a person's immune system reacts to nontoxic environmental situations or substances such as latex.



Latex can be found in two forms: natural or synthetic. It’s a complex emulsion, that when natural, is used by the plants it contains as a defense against insects. Ah, but you’re not an insect. You’re a human, and chances are that at some point in your life in the medical profession, you’ve found that rubber gloves are the main source of allergic latex reactions. But it’s also used in over 400,000 products from Band-Aids to blood pressure cuffs, catheters to dental dams, IV tubes and ventilator tubing to other medical devices.

If you have or have experienced allergic reactions to latex, you need to verify whether latex is contained in the items you’re in contact with, and if you don’t know - talk to manufacturers.


Beginning in the late 1980s there’s appeared to be has been a dramatic rise in latex allergy. Why? Due logically to the universal precautions for preventing infectious diseases from spreading, diseases such as the AIDS virus or MERS. Because of this the use of latex gloves is very widespread. Exposures to latex and rubber products are common and the end result: health care workers are more at risk for latex allergy.

So, to answer our first question, how common is that allergy? Over 10% of healthcare workers apparently have a latex allergy, with an average of 1% to 6% of the general population allergic, too.

These allergic individuals identify latex as a pathogen. The immune system the triggers the ells in the body to produce IgE  - that’s immunoglobulin E. Those are antibodies designed to fight the latex. When you come into contact with latex, the IgE antibodies signal the immune system to release chemicals, such as histamine, in the bloodstream.

And what sort of a reaction does this cause? Well, the more a person is exposed to latex, the greater their immune system experiences sensitization. And the larger and more violent the reaction to this exposure.

The powder used in surgical gloves is a major immune problem. Latex easily sticks to the powder, the gloves often will snap when put on or taken off, which sends the powder into the air - powder that has latex adhering to it. This creates maximum exposure and a maximum reaction.




Reactions include three different types of latex sensitivity.

First: Irritant contact dermatitis.

This is the least significant type of latex reaction, and is basically a non-allergenic skin reaction. Repeated exposure to chemicals in latex gloves results in dryness, as well as skin itching, burning, scaling, and lesions.       
Second: Allergic contact dermatitis.

This is seen as a delayed reaction to additives used in latex processing, creating similar reactions as irritant contact dermatitis, but it is more severe. It usually spreads throughout the body, and lasts for a longer time.

Third: Immediate allergic reaction, also known as latex hypersensitivity.

This is the most serious reaction to latex. Symptoms include rhinitis, conjunctivitis, cramps, hives, and extreme itching. Symptoms can also become more severe, resulting in tremors, chest pain, blood pressure lowering, even anaphylactic shock, or if untreated, death.

 
While these serious allergic reactions to latex can range from skin redness and itching to more profound symptoms, allergic reactions to latex rarely become life-threatening conditions indicated by symptoms like low blood pressure, difficulty in breathing or with a rapid heart rate. But if they do progress into severity, emergency measures should be taken immediately.

So in short, latex allergies are no laughing matter.

What can you do?

The short but unlikely to be simple answer is to avoid latex. Those who are extremely allergic to latex can have a reaction from clothes, shoes, and elastic bands, condoms, pacifiers, baby-bottle nipples, even balloons, as well as the latex products used in the medical industry.

Type 1 allergic reactions to latex can even be triggered by airborne particles and may exhibit symptoms that include scaliness of the skin, burning, blistering or oozing. Irritant contact dermatitis is the mildest and most common reaction usually causing dry and itchy skin after using latex gloves.

What if you don’t know if you’re at risk? Here’s the thing, for people who genetically predisposed toward latex allergy, the allergy may take awhile to occur, due to the build up of use of latex products. Repeated exposure is what causes an allergy to develop for those who are predisposed, such as health care workers from nurses to dental hygienists and operating room staff. Also extremely susceptible: those with multiple surgical experiences, bone marrow cell defects, regular urinary catheter users - as many catheters have a rubber tip, spinal surgery patients, asthma or eczema sufferers, and those whoa re already allergic to plant foods.


Some individuals already allergic to latex may also be allergic to certain food items due to a so-called cross reaction. This means that your immune system will produce the same allergic symptoms as it would when exposed to latex. A variety of foods are commonly associate with cross transactions, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains. Common allergens include tomatoes, chestnuts, wheat and rye. If you’re allergic to any of these types of foods, your doctor should be told as this can contribute very definitely to allergy to latex.


What happens if you suspect you may have an allergy to latex, but it hasn’t been positively determined? Your doctor may order an allergy patch test. This test will reveal if a patient is latex sensitive or sensitive to similar types of substances. It must be administered very carefully as patients can have a severe reaction to the test itself. Alternatively or in conjunction with a patch test, your doctor may ask for a blood test to determine allergies.

Can latex allergies by cured, or at least treated? Unfortunately there’s presently no way to prevent allergic reaction to latex. Should symptoms occur, allergic reactions are usually deflected with the use of antihistamines, or adrenaline, or steroids. But the best plan is to just avoid products with latex in them. Substances can be used as a substitute for latex, like neoprene or polymer agents.

A recent Medical College of Wisconsin study noted that the best way to prevent sensitization to latex that leads to allergic reaction is to simply stop using powdered latex gloves. If this is done, allergens in the air and air ducts is reduced greatly and helps to prevent sensitization.

While there is no legal requirement at present that forces manufacturers of products that contain latex to state this component in their labeling, researching products will often turn up the information needed to prevent the use of products involving latex. Choosing products which are created from natural rubber can result in dramatically decreased sensitization.

But for those who are sensitized, and come into contact with Latex? With sensitivity over stimulated and heightened, sometimes replacing Latex coated products with products that aren’t coated can still cause a reaction. How is this possible? Latex free products are often manufactured in the same setting as products that contain latex, and small traces of latex can still be present - and that can be enough.

Let Medtrainer help you to navigate the perilous waters of latex compliance, as the latex allergy concerns continue to be an issue for the medical profession.

DOT Hazardous Material Transportation Regulations

Rules and Regulations

How do DOT hazardous material transport regulations affect you? Well, simply as a member of the public, the regulations designed to keep the U.S. up to par with international HazMat laws are a necessity. As a member of the medical profession, the changes that have occurred over the last several years affects your transport and disposal of medical waste products.

Disposing, Recycling, Transporting

Disposal and recycling techniques for medical waste of all types is intrinsically dependent on the transport of hazardous materials in many cases. The types of disposal techniques available may depend on the transport of  hazardous, or anatomical waste products, and the state and federal rules and regulations governing this. Starting  with knowledge of classifications and regulations from disposal to transport and then assessing the best disposal techniques in terms of safety, efficiency, and cost are vital.

There are many  intricate details of compliance regarding transport of waste, medications, and other hazardous materials that can alter the way in which you transport these items.



Information Needed - and required

At MedTrainer, we can help you to achieve compliance with the Department of Transportation regulations, by informing, educating, and training staff. The hazardous materials regulations changes were first on the horizon with Docket HM-181, providing  hazardous material transport standards copacetic with international standards to assist with foreign trade and maintain competitiveness for U.S. goods.

The latest in regulations designed to keep the U.S. operating in conjunction with international HazMat transportation laws appeared in July, 2003. Alterations in our operating practice have occurred due to the Twelfth revised edition of the UN Transport of Dangerous Goods-Model Regulations as well as Amendment 31 to the International Maritime Organization's IMDG Code; and the International Civil Aviation Organization's 2003-2004 ICAO Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air. All of this labyrinth of rules holds many  important changes affecting U.S. shippers and carriers of hazardous materials.

HM-215E is a particularly key piece of legislation that updates shipping descriptions, a problem that many shipper have due to a lack of knowledge about the new regulations. Making changes in the way in which your shipping is handled will prevent non-compliance with current HazMat regulations, and federal and state inspectors visiting and fining you.



Of particular interest are amendments to the Hazardous Materials Table (HMT) which have added, revised and removed certain hazard classes, packing groups, provision, authorizations, and even shipping names. Bulk packaging requirements have also changed. Staff responsible for transport must review the HMT entries that are new: added, changed and also deleted. Specific attention should be paid to the new proper shipping names for materials that your staff handles regularly.

Also review revisions and additions for special provisions, such as aerosol entries classifications, and flammable items. The toxicity and fire hazard of items has also changed. The proper shipping name in many cases must now include any subsidiary hazard.

Another new addition: a requirement that necessitates the number and types of packaging on shipping documents. An alternative basic description sequence is also now allowed.

Limited quality markings and air eligibility markings are also now a requirement. Packaging requirements themselves have also changed.

Additionally, there are have been revisions to requirements for air-transported packages, liquified and non- liquified gas transport, descriptions, and categories. There have also been more revisions to and additions on both the Self-Reactive Materials Table and the Organic Peroxide Table.

Class Acts

Classes of materials have also been revised overall: Hazard Class 1 represents explosives, Hazard Class 2 compressed gasses, Hazard Class 3: Flammable Liquids, Flammable solids are represented by Hazard Class 4. Hazard Class 5: Oxidizers and Organic Peroxides, Hazard Class 6: Toxic Materials,  Hazard Class 7: Radioactive Material  with subheadings for classification purposes of  Radioactive I , Radioactive II, and Radioactive III . Hazard Class 8 pertains to Corrosive Material that can cause destruction of the human skin, while a class 9 hazard refers to miscellaneous  material that can present a shipping hazard but doesn’t meet the definitions of the other classes.

Regardless of type, if a shipment contains a hazardous material, Hazmat General Shipping Procedures must be followed.  And what are these?

First, one must determine if the chemicals being shipped or offered for shipment are listed in
Hazmat Table 49 CFR Subpart B, 172.101. In this document, all hazardous waste is defined as
“A substance or material that the Secretary of Transportation has determined is capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce, and has designated as hazardous under section 5103 of the Federal Hazardous Materials Transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5103).”



Hazardous Material Table

Next, the task is to refer to information contained in the hazardous materials table, indicating mode of transportation, descriptions and proper shipping names, class and division, as well as UN/NA identification number. The packing group, labels, special provisions, and packaging requirements are also described. There is also information referring to air or land transportation.



Packaging systems approved by the United  Nations Transportation Board must also be used as they’re designed to prevent any hazardous material escaping during transport. And correct markings and labeling are required for hazardous material shipment. If proper packaging and labeling is not employed? Well, naturally the package may not be delivered to their destination, but there’s worse possibilities afoot, other than the obvious health hazards for those handling or transporting the packages. For example: senders could be subjected to fines or even prison sentencing. Personal liability for any health risks that occur in transport is also possible.

Learn and Stay Safe

That’s a substantial risk for shipper to be taking, and arguably no one would undertake such a risk or create such a hazard willingly. However - that’s the risk medical shippers are taking if staff is not properly trained in compliance measures, which of course is where MedTrainer can help.

No time to instruct on numeric hazard class or packing techniques? Then MedTrainer’s proven teaching strategies can provide uniform training for all staff, and cover both compliance and safety issues in one fell swoop.

Just the correct completion of shipping papers required for hazardous shipments can take some getting used to. Certainly DOT shipping descriptions may be a given, but did you know that includes items such as dry ice? Yes, dry ice is a class 9 miscellaneous hazard that is classified by both DOT and IATA as a material that includes explosion, suffocation, and contact hazard.

As a class 9 hazard, dry ice is another material that requires a hazardous material declaration form to be attached to any shipment regardless of what else that shipment contains. And dry ice packaging must allow the release and venting of the gaseous carbon dioxide the ice contains - styrofoam box, cardboard outer cover, with a label indicating dry ice enclosed. All of this plus any required markings if the dry ice accompanies another hazardous material.

Now you may feel that some of this labeling, categorizing, packaging and more are onerous tasks, but they are designed for safety. The reason for fines and for the necessary compliance in the first place is to protect shippers, senders, handlers, and receivers from the hazards transported products may contain. In the same way, hazardous waste transporters themselves must follow their own requirements in order to be allowed to treat, recycle, store, or dispose of hazardous materials.

Safety First

Department of Transportation regulations for the transport of hazardous materials are key for safety all across the board, and stringent adherence to DOT guidelines and regulations is monitored. That means medical, dental, pharmacological, and veterinary staff members responsible for shipping hazardous materials, whether a medical product or a waste product, are also going to be carefully monitored. It's now a federal requirement that anyone preparing hazardous materials for transport must be trained before doing so and retrained every three years.




To prevent problems from health hazards to fines and monitoring, the best path is getting staff up to speed on DOT requirements and changes in regulations that have taken place in recent years. Compliance isn’t just a rote path to be followed here. It’s a necessity for safety, health - and the health and safety of your business and co-workers. Proper training is a way of life where DOT regulations are concerned.