Occupational Health Services

 

 

 

Occupational health services help to maintain the health of workers. They promote the physical and mental well-being of the workforce and ensure that the work environment is safe and healthy. The occupational health service is an integrated, multidisciplinary service infrastructure. This includes the provision of prevention and control measures, clinical care for injured workers and impairment assessment, and periodic health surveillance. It also includes the provision of information and education on safety and health at work.

 

Occupational health services should be based on an effective primary care approach. In addition to evaluating the risks and hazards of a working environment, they should be able to assess potential links between those risks and the health of workers. Services should be available to all employees, including self-employed persons. They should be provided in a public or private setting. These may include a medical group practice, a hospital, or a free-standing clinic.

 

Occupational health services are usually available to about 10-15% of the working population around the world. Despite these figures, there are still several countries where there are no occupational health services at all. There are also several issues with the current distribution of these services. Some countries have only physicians in their OHS units, while others have a multidisciplinary team.

 

Basic Occupational Health Services (BOHS) are needed in countries where there is not an occupational health service and in sectors where there are serious underserved needs. BOHS are a part of the global occupational health services development plan. Although the concept of BOHS was originally developed by the World Health Organization, its implementation depends on the involvement of expert institutions in occupational health.

 

Occupational health services should be implemented in collaboration with the health and labor ministries. They should be coordinated with other occupational health activities, such as occupational health promotion, emergency preparedness and risk assessment, and surveillance of the workplace. Moreover, they should be designed with the future needs in mind. Lastly, they should not violate the confidentiality of the health data of individual workers.

 

Occupational health services are available in industrialized countries. However, these services are still underdeveloped in Central and Eastern Europe, which are in the process of reorganizing economic activities. Also, they are not widely available in developing countries. Nonetheless, occupational health services should be provided to the working population in these regions, as they are an important part of the social and economic wellbeing of the workforce.

 

Meridian occupational health services should provide the best possible standards of health for workers. In addition, they should also be cost-effective. A successful program can prevent accidents, injuries, and absenteeism, which cost employers about $150 billion per year. Other benefits of implementing an occupational health program include reduced costs and improved employee satisfaction. Using occupational health services can also increase productivity and create a healthier workplace.

 

Providing occupational health services can be challenging, because of the complexities involved. One issue is the lack of expertise in the field. There are various disciplines within occupational health, including the management of occupational diseases, Occupational Medicine, Occupational Health Administration, occupational psychology, epidemiology, occupational health nursing, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Get a general overview of the topic here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_counsellor.