Be Aware: There Are Consequences for Failing to Keep a Record of Daily Health Screenings

Given that many patients with COVID-19 are asymptomatic, the value of basic screenings has come under debate. However, your personal views on whether they’re necessary are irrelevant if your state or local health department has enacted policies requiring them. An urgent care operator learned this the hard way when the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited a center for not keeping a daily record of health screenings for people who visited—after being tipped off by an employee at the center. Michigan requires many businesses, including urgent care centers, to document COVID-19 employee training and daily health screenings for both visitors and employees. While the urgent care operator was not fined, the infraction was published in local media, painting the business in a bad light at a time when many urgent care centers are struggling to rebound from the beating they took at the height of the pandemic. Be sure you and your team are aware of requirements in your locations, and that you’re complying with whatever reporting obligations you may have.