How do BC healthcare organizations determine is a specific education session has had a positive impact on reducing back injuries, or if introducing safer needles reduced needlestick injuries. How do they track immunized and non-immunized workers during an infectious disease outbreak such as influenza?

They use the WHITE database - a web-based system that centralizes information on incident tracking and case management. The information enables the healthcare sector to reduce and/or eliminate workplace injuries, provide prompt clinical and workplace interventions to reduce disability and time loss, and evaluate the effectiveness of health and safety programs.

The Database has five modules with these key functionalities:

Incident Management Module

• Records reported incident/injury details
• Records the Investigator's Report (including identification of action items and corrective action timescales/completion)
• Identifies primary cause, primary nature of injury and primary body part(s) affected

Claims Management Module

• Electronic submission of WorkSafeBC Form 7
• Electronic retrieval of WorkSafeBC Claims Costs
• Records/tracks long term disabilities
• Records/tracks return to work planning for time loss claims and long term disabilities

Disability Management Module

• Records/tracks short term disabilities
• Records/tracks intervention strategies
• Records worker/workplace assessments and tracks treatments
• Records/tracks duty to accommodate and return to work plans

Employee Health Module

• Records worker baseline status, immunization and vaccination against infectious diseases
• Records/tracks needlestick and BBF exposure information
• Records worker allergies and sensitivities

HCW (Health Care Worker) Module

• Records facemask fit test results
• Records/tracks training and education records

Data Security/Confidentiality

The WHITE Database, and its intent, were reviewed rigorously by OHSAH’s bi-partite Board of Directors, and is fully supported by health employers and unions.

Featuring many layers of security, database information is only available to authorized persons with personal, non-transferable login and passwords that determine the information to be displayed to each system user (Occupational Health Professionals). This is in addition to health authority network security.

Data is used for research and analysis only, by each health authority and OHSAH.

Information collected and used by OHSAH is based upon the anonymity of individual healthcare workers. This is achieved by removing or encrypting personal information before it is analyzed.