Occupational Health - Affecting Your Bottom Line By J. Paul Martin, MD
Medical Director, Mission Hospital OccuMed
Occupational Medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention and treatment of diseases and injuries occurring at work or in specific occupations. Regardless of the employment situation, there are numerous factors in the workplace that directly affect employee health, including ergonomics, lighting, air quality, repetitive activities, and possible exposure to a variety of environmental agents. The traditional role of the Occupational Physician has been to partner with employers to address the complex and potentially expensive issues covered by Workers Compensation and OSHA. The Occupational Medical evaluation of an individual with a suspected work-related condition is much different than the usual assessment performed by a non-Occupational Physician. This specialized Occupational Medical evaluation can significantly improve the accuracy of determining compensability or non-compensability thereby directly affecting costs. Whether or not the illness/injury is work-related, the goal of the Occupational Physician is to return the employee to productive employment as soon as safely possible. By closely working with employers, especially those with modified duty opportunities, the Occupational Physician can minimize lost time and recordable events. Over the past decade, Occupational Medicine has become more involved with the impact of non-occupational illness on productivity and costs in the workplace. Since January 2010 the following topics have been addressed in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (the official journal of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine): worksite intervention for obesity control; productivity losses in patients with depression; medication therapy compliance: relationship to employer costs; cost of poor sleep; osteoarthritis and absenteeism. It has become increasingly evident that employer costs can be significantly reduced by organized programs to improve employee health. These health conditions are not caused by the workplace, but obviously impact productivity, morale, and employee satisfaction. One of the most widely recognized and successful programs to reduce employer costs by better managing healthcare is those known as the "Asheville Project." This disease management program arose from a collaborative effort between employers (initially the City of Asheville), pharmacists, Mission Hospital, and physicians - the lead physician being an Occupational Medicine specialist. With over ten year's experience, annual savings per enrolled individual has been realized year after year. In addition to the notable savings, absenteeism was cut in half and employee satisfaction excelled. Occupational Medicine is no longer limited to focusing on Workers Comp and OSHA. An Occupational Physician can help your company review healthcare costs and design programs to increase productivity, reduce absenteeism and improve employee satisfaction and loyalty. Read about Mission's Occupational Medicine services, or call 828-213-0691 for more information.
