Authority Index
21 regulatory authorities currently published. Almost none of them mention pests by name; the work of this reference is establishing, from the primary source, how each one is actually applied to pest activity and pesticide handling in a healthcare facility. Start with your situation below, or browse by authority class.
Which Regime Governs Me
- Any hospital that bills Medicare
CMS Conditions of Participation for Hospitals — Physical Environment · CMS State Operations Manual Appendix A — Hospital Survey Protocol
The Conditions of Participation are the floor. Appendix A is how a state surveyor applies them, and where the A-tags on a Form 2567 come from.
- Hospital accredited by The Joint Commission
The Joint Commission 2026 Physical Environment Chapter — Pest Activity and Pesticide Storage
Pest activity is cited under PE.01.01.01; pesticide storage and Safety Data Sheet deficiencies under PE.02.01.01 EP 4.
- Hospital accredited by DNV
DNV-GL NIAHO Standards — Pest Management in DNV-Accredited Hospitals
Same substantive expectations as The Joint Commission, surveyed annually, with ISO 9001 quality-management documentation on top.
- Any facility with a pesticide on the premises
OSHA Hazard Communication Standard — Pesticide Storage and SDS Requirements · EPA Integrated Pest Management in Health Care Facilities: Implementing an IPM Program (2021) · Utah Administrative Code R68-7 — Utah Pesticide Control Act Rules
HazCom governs the container on the shelf; the EPA toolkit governs whether it should be there; state rules govern who may apply it.
- Dietary, cafeteria, or any food service
FDA Food Code 2022 — Pest Control in Healthcare Food Service · NACMCF 1997 HACCP Principles — Pest Control as Prerequisite Program
The state-adopted Food Code has an explicit pest control section. If the kitchen runs HACCP, pest control is a named prerequisite program.
- Pharmacy compounding or hazardous drug handling
USP General Chapter <797> — Pharmaceutical Compounding for Sterile Preparations · USP General Chapter <800> — Hazardous Drugs Handling in Healthcare Settings
Neither chapter mentions pests. Both make pest evidence a contamination event and pesticide application inside a classified space effectively impossible.
- Operating rooms and sterile processing
AORN 2026 Guidelines for Perioperative Practice — Environmental Cleaning and Pest Exclusion · FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction — Pest Exclusion in Healthcare Facility Design
AORN is the perioperative standard of care; FGI is the design standard that determines how well the space excludes pests to begin with.
- Infection prevention program design or audit
CDC HICPAC Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control — Pest Control Recommendations · APIC Text of Infection Control and Epidemiology — Environmental Services and Pest Management · EPA Integrated Pest Management in Health Care Facilities: Implementing an IPM Program (2021)
HICPAC is the federal standard of care; the APIC Text is the Infection Preventionist’s working reference; the EPA toolkit is the program structure.
- Utah-licensed hospital
Utah Administrative Code R432-100 — General Hospital Standards (Pest Management Provisions) · Utah Administrative Code R68-7 — Utah Pesticide Control Act Rules
Utah is one of the few states with an explicit “free from vermin and rodents” licensure requirement, plus its own applicator licensure rule.
- Clinic, rehabilitation agency, or public health agency furnishing outpatient physical therapy or speech-language pathology services
The one freestanding federal “Standard: Pest control” outside long-term care, 42 CFR §485.725(e). It is in Part 485 Subpart H; it does not reach hospitals or critical access hospitals.
- VA medical facility
VHA Directive 1850.02 — Pest Management Operations Program
The most prescriptive federal healthcare pest standard: mandatory program, named officer, prior approval for patient-care-area applications.
- Vetting a pest management vendor’s credentials
ESACC Board Certified Entomologist (BCE) Credential · Utah Administrative Code R68-7 — Utah Pesticide Control Act Rules
State licensure is the legal minimum. The BCE is the credential that answers HICPAC’s call for a credentialed specialist.
- Building the business case
Healthcare-Associated Infection Costs and Pest Exposure Financial Framing
The primary-source cost figures and the Medicare payment programs a pest finding can touch.
Already holding a citation? The survey deficiencies section takes each CMS A-tag and Joint Commission Element of Performance in turn: what it enforces, what the surveyor was looking for, and what a plan of correction must address. For pesticide storage specifically, see the pesticide storage requirements topic page.
By Authority Class
Federal Regulators
Binding on every facility in their scope. CMS and OSHA are enforced by survey and inspection; CDC, EPA, FDA, and USDA material becomes binding through adoption or by reference in survey guidance.
Accrediting Bodies
Binding on hospitals that hold the accreditation. For deemed-status hospitals, the accreditor survey stands in for the routine CMS survey, so these standards are where a pest observation is usually first written up.
State Regulators
Binding within the state. Hospital licensure rules set the facility obligation; pesticide control rules set who may apply what. Utah is the depth prototype; other states follow the same two-part pattern.
Recognized Authorities
Not regulations. Standards of care that surveyors, infection preventionists, and counsel measure against when the regulation itself is silent, which for pest control is most of the time.