Best Practices in Workplace Surveillance

Cost Effective Medical Surveillance for Smaller Companies

Peter Wald

Continual mergers and downsizing have eliminated many internal company medical departments. In smaller companies, a lack of internal resources or budgetary constraints cannot support such departments. As a result of this, freestanding occupational medicine clinics perform most mandated regulatory exams. Because these clinics operate from a fee-for-service model, they do not have the incentive to provide population level health analysis.

We developed an Integrated Managed System (IMS) as an alternative delivery method. This system delivers complete medical surveillance programs to small and medium sized companies at costs comparable to exam services from freestanding clinics. The primary difference in these models is that IMS provides administrative, technological and management services usually cost-prohibitive for smaller companies. This approach offers small companies the functionality of a Fortune 50 corporate medical department at an affordable price.

In contrast to freestanding occupational medicine clinics, IMS provides similar services, yet includes analysis of medical surveillance data to generate:

This model is focused on process management. The administrative function utilizes customer service representatives to process data, schedule exams and manage client requests and services. The technological function manages electronic medical surveillance data through the operation of OHM software program. Occupational board-certified physicians handle the management function, providing review and analysis of charts, and customized occ-health services, studies and consultation. Benefits of this process are:

PDF Document (283 KB)

NOTE: This document is provided for historical purposes only.

Page last updated: 22 December, 2002
Page last reviewed: 22 December, 2002
Content Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, And Field Studies (DSHEFS)

Workshop Home - Opening Session - Labor - Management - OSH Professionals - Academia - Public Health - Risk Management - National & State - Posters - Special - Breakout - NORA