University of Florida

Health Assessments for Individuals Who Have
PATIENT CONTACT

The following is taken from the Preplacement Physical Examinations:   Policies and Procedures established by the University of Florida's Student Health Care Center (SHCC).

Many employees of UF are involved in health care and health professions areas and thus fall under specific laws and guidelines regarding preplacement evaluations and monitoring.  These guidelines include, but are not limited to, OSHA and CDC regulations and recommendations regarding bloodborne pathogens.

For purposes of SHCC preplacement examinations and evaluations, "patient contact" will be defined as follows:

Any employee having physical face-to-face contact with patients or having contact with potentially contaminated items, including (but not limited to) blood and/or body fluids, as a required part of their job duties will be considered to have "patient contact" for the purposes of their preplacement screening by the UF SHCC.

In general, employees meeting the above definition will be involved in the Health Sciences at UF or its outlying health care facilities.  Employees who might occasionally or inadvertently be exposed to an ill person (e.g. a receptionist at Tigert Hall) or a blood or body fluid spill (e.g. a custodian at a residence hall) will not be considered to have "patient contact" for the purposes of preplacement screening by the SHCC.

A Patient Contact Preplacement Screening at the SHCC will require the following:

  1. A preplacement medical history and physical examination.

  2. Documented evidence of PPD testing within the past six (6) months.  If the PPD is (was) positive (+), or the patient has a history of a previously positive PPD, a chest x-ray showing no evidence of active tuberculosis is required.  If the employee/candidate cannot verify their PPD status, the SHCC can provide PPD testing or a chest x-ray.

  3. Documented evidence of Measles/Rubella (MR) immunization for all employees/candidates born after January 1, 1957.  If the immunization is medically contraindicated, Measles and Rubella titers showing evidence of immunity can be substituted for this requirement.  The SHCC can provide MR immunization.  Under no circumstances will the statement "Had measles and rubella as a child" be an acceptable substitution for a UF preplacement MR vaccination requiremeant, even when such a statement is signed by a physician.

  4. Hepatitis B Vaccination:  OSHA regulations and State of Florida statutes require that all employees who could reasonably be anticipated, as the result of performing their assigned job duties, to face contact with human blood or other potentially infectious body fluids must be offered Hepatitis B vaccination at no cost to the employee.  Employees/candidates who meet this criteria will be offered Hepatitis B vaccination and will be strongly counseled to accept.  If an employee/candidate declines, they will be required to sign a declination statement that meets OSHA and CDC requirements.  The SHCC will provide the three (3) injection vaccination series if requested.

  5. Tetanus vaccination will be offered but not required for employees/candidates with patient contact.  If the employee/candidate is due for Tetanus vaccination but refuses, a declination statement must be signed.  If the employee/candidate chooses to proceed, a Tetanus/Diphtheria vaccination can be given at the SHCC.

If a patient contact employee/candidate does not meet PPD and MR requirements, that individual will be listed as "Not Recommended" until these requirements are met.