Occupational Health Doctor
Occupational health doctors who specialise in the health issues that arise in the workplace. They are often employed as consultants to determine the cause of a work-related injury, decide how serious it appears to be, and assess the job site where the incident occurred. They might also conduct medical screenings or tests for an employer.
In cases where a work-related injury results in a worker's compensation claim against the employer, the company might hire an occupational physician to examine the injury and determine the facts. The occupational physician will try to figure out how serious the injury is and whether the employee is medically able to return to work or not. If the injured employee cannot yet resume normal job duties, the occupational physician may suggest other tasks that would not be likely to aggravate the injury.
Companies sometimes hire occupational physicians to conduct medical screenings for new hires or candidates to make sure they are physically capable of meeting the job requirements. They might also conduct yearly physical examinations offered or required by the employer. While the occupational physician in this case is hired by the company rather than the patient, some courts have found that the examination creates a doctor-patient relationship between the physician and the employee, complicating the liability situation for the doctor in these cases.
A company may employ the services of an occupational physician to analyse the workplace and make suggestions for policy changes to reduce the likelihood of on-the-job injuries. The company can either do this preemptively or in response to an incident that has already occurred. Occupational physicians also advise companies on policies to reduce the spread of contagious diseases and their associated expenses, such as employee absences and insurance claims. In addition, occupational physicians can be hired to give advice on how to make the employees and the workplace healthier overall.
Another area where occupational physicians can be of service to a company is by monitoring toxic or otherwise dangerous substances and their effects on employees. If company management suspects that exposure to a substance in the workplace is having an effect on employees' health, an occupational physician can implement a health surveillance plan to establish a baseline and then track any changes in the health of the employees that may indicate cause for concern.
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