Occupational Health Services | Kaiser Permanente (2023)

FAQs

What is occupational medicine Kaiser? ›

Occupational Health Department provides comprehensive, high quality workers compensation injury and illness treatment and other employment related medical services.

Occupational health services include employee wellness, pre-placement testing, ergonomics, occupational therapy, occupational medicine, and more.

Most occupational medicine facilities provide drug and alcohol screening (this can be for both new and continued employment), screening and testing for work-related accidents, various medical tests (including EKGs, x-rays, and standard lab workups), health screening for employees, and basic injury care.

“Employee health” refers to healthcare issues related to a type of patient: employees. It may include multiple facets of medicine: occupational medicine, internal medicine, sports medicine, family medicine, etc. In this concept, the effort to improve occupational health is just one subset of employee health.

The four categories of occupational health hazards are biological, ergonomic, chemical, and physical hazards.

Occupational medicine is all about keeping workers healthy and workplaces safe. Employees injured during the course of employment, or who suffer from work-related illnesses or diseases, require specialized care and may be eligible for Workers' Compensation benefits.

The health of the workers has several determinants, including risk factors at the workplace leading to cancers, accidents, musculoskeletal diseases, respiratory diseases, hearing loss, circulatory diseases, stress related disorders, communicable diseases and others.

Occupational therapy (OT) is a healthcare profession. It involves the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or occupations, of individuals, groups, or communities.

An occupational hazard is a hazard experienced in the workplace. This encompasses many types of hazards, including chemical hazards, biological hazards (biohazards), psychosocial hazards, and physical hazards.

Additionally, primary care includes health promotion, disease prevention, health maintenance, counseling, patient education, diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic illnesses in a variety of health care settings (e.g., office, inpatient, critical care, long-term care, home care, schools, telehealth, etc.).

Is occupational health the same as physical therapy? ›

The most basic difference between physical therapy and occupational therapy is that a PT focuses on improving the patient's ability to move their body whereas an OT focuses on improving the patient's ability to perform activities of daily living.

Occupational insurance describes the financial compensation that individuals who get injured or killed at work receive. Non-occupational insurance is the policy that states that an individual is not subject to compensation if they get injured outside their place of work or activities associated with their work.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards are rules that describe the methods that employers must use to protect their employees from hazards. There are OSHA standards for construction work, maritime operations and general industry, which is the set that applies to most worksites.

Planning. The first key component of any occupational health and safety (OHS) management system is planning. Whether you use a paper-based 'Safety Statement' or dedicated occupational health and safety (OHS) management software, planning should be front and centre of everything you do.

There are many types of hazards - chemical, ergonomic, physical, and psychosocial, to name a few - which can cause harm or adverse effects in the workplace.

These presentations focus on the Big Four Construction Hazards – falls, electrocution, caught-in and struck-by. All training materials will cover the four hazards seen regularly on construction sites and will focus on the methods for the recognition and the prevention of these common hazards. 1.

Occupational therapy (OT) is a branch of health care that helps people of all ages who have physical, sensory, or cognitive problems. OT can help them regain independence in all areas of their lives. Occupational therapists help with barriers that affect a person's emotional, social, and physical needs.

Hearing loss.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), occupational hearing loss is the most common occupational illness in the U.S. Workers who are constantly exposed to loud noise, solvents, metals, heat, or asphyxiants are at the greatest risk of suffering from occupational hearing loss.

What forms of occupational diseases are the most common? ›

Occupational health is an area of work in public health to promote and maintain highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations.

Workplace hazards fall into six core types – safety, biological, physical, ergonomic, chemical and workload.

Work related causes of fatigue include excessively long shifts, not enough time to recover between shifts and blocks of shifts, very strenuous jobs and long commuting times.

In summary, Occupational Therapy is a therapeutic intervention aimed at restoring an individual's ability to perform everyday tasks, while Occupational Health Services are focused on promoting and maintaining the health and safety of workers in the workplace.

Occupational Therapy is centered around helping people participate in the everyday activities that are important to them. These activities are also called 'occupations' hence the term 'occupational therapy'.

Chemical hazards include solvents, adhesives, paints, toxic dusts, among other potentially toxic fumes or acids. Biological hazards include infectious diseases, molds, toxic or poisonous plants, or animal materials. Physical hazards include excessive noise, elevated or low temperatures, or radiation.

Reduced risk or accidents or injuries by identifying and mitigating hazards. Improved efficiency and productivity due to fewer employees missing work from illness or injury. Improved employee relations and morale (a safer work environment is a less stressful work environment)

There are four basic designs healthcare systems follow: the Beveridge model, the Bismarck model, the national health insurance model, and the out-of-pocket model. The U.S. uses all four of these models for different segments of its residents and citizens.

What's critical condition mean? ›

What Does Critical Condition Mean? The person's vital signs are unstable and outside of their normal limits. They may be unconscious. The doctor expects the outcome to be poor, or they can't predict how the person will fare.

A “physician or other qualified health care professional” is an individual who is qualified by education, training, licensure/regulation (when applicable), and facility privileging (when applicable) who performs a professional service within his/her scope of practice and independently reports that professional service. ...

An occupational medicine program takes a comprehensive approach to work-related injuries and offers everything you'll need, from the diagnosis at the onset of an injury to follow-up treatment after you've recovered. Occupational therapy (OT) is a big part of making a prompt return to work possible.

Occupational therapy is the use of occupation to promote health and wellness. Occupational therapists are health professionals who use occupation and meaningful activities with specific goals to help people of all ages prevent, lessen, or adapt to disabilities.

An occupational therapist with an earned doctoral degree from an accredited school, college, or university may use the suffix designating the degree, or the prefix “Doctor” or “Dr.” and add after the person's name the words “occupational therapist”.

Occupational Medicine (American Medical Association journal), with the ISO 4 abbreviation Occup. Med.

The most basic difference between physical therapy and occupational therapy is that a PT focuses on improving the patient's ability to move their body whereas an OT focuses on improving the patient's ability to perform activities of daily living.

Occupational therapy supports people whose physical or mental health, environment or social circumstances make it difficult to take part in the activities that matter to them. An occupational therapist will work with you to identify strengths and difficulties you may have in everyday life.

Most doctors don't order OT, because they think that OT mainly focuses on activities of daily living. Doctors may think that physical therapy's endurance and gait training tend to be more beneficial than simple ADLs. Doctors may also not order OT for the following reasons.

The insight of an OT can assist the clinician performing an evaluation to make the most accurate and comprehensive diagnosis possible. An OT can provide information to the diagnosing clinician by: Providing access to previous records if a child has been receiving occupational therapy prior to the diagnostic evaluation.

Does occupational therapy require doctorate degree? ›

A master's degree in occupational therapy or a doctoral degree is now required for all entry-level positions. Still, some professionals choose to pursue more advanced degrees, including a doctorate in occupational therapy, instead. The commitment can be costly and time-consuming.

Occupational medicine (also known as “occupational health”) is focused on the treatment of work-related injuries and illnesses.

Do you call an OTD a doctor? No, you can't call an occupational therapist (OT) a medical doctor. OTs are clinicians who have a bachelor, master, or doctoral level education.

OTC. over-the-counter drug. OTD. out the door (discharged)