Industry Voices—Is there a correlation between opioid abuse and workplace violence in healthcare?

It can happen anytime, anywhere. Workplace violence isn’t confined to one person, one room or one act. In the healthcare industry, workplace violence can mean a number of things: a doctor bullying a nurse, a patient physically assaulting a caregiver, or a family member raising his or her voice at the front desk. Sadly, this violence is not new to the healthcare industry. According to OSHA, 75% of nearly 25,000 workplace assaults reported annually occurred in healthcare and social service settings. Moreover, from 2002 to 2013, incidents of serious workplace violence were four times more common in healthcare than any other industry. Because of this, it is imperative that healthcare organizations identify triggers for such incidents to better protect their patients, visitors, staff and associates.