Use
of Hand Sanitizers
At
its meeting in January, the Ohio State Dental Board (Board)
approved the use of hand sanitizers as recommended by the Department
of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
as equivalent to appropriate hand washing as required under
Ohio Admin. Code 4715-20-01.
The
CDC has set forth guidelines for hand hygiene in its 2003 Guidelines
for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings (see
attached excerpt of the report and the recommendations, references
omitted). The Board intends to adopt a policy at its February
meeting setting forth its position on hand hygiene and the use
of hand sanitizers and adopting CDC's guidelines, and this policy
will then be put in rule form as part of this year's rule review.
Please
be advised that the use of hand sanitizers as recommended by
the CDC can begin immediately
