Over-the-counter meds cut absences, lost time
Availability keeps 86% of employees on the job
Having over-the-counter (OTC) medications available for employees may seem a small matter in the wide spectrum of wellness strategies, but it can make a huge difference in reducing illness and boosting productivity. That value is further enhanced when such medications are dispensed by an occupational health nurse.
A recent survey of 257 hourly workers at an automotive manufacturing plant showed that 86% of those employees reported staying on the job when they had convenient access to OTC medications within their nurse-managed program. When those medications were distributed to employees, the employees said their symptoms were reduced enough so they could stay on their jobs and finish their shifts. (For more highlights from the study, see box on p. 104.)
"There was a very strong agreement among workers — and this was a random sample from over 10,000 employees — that having the OTC meds available on the work site was a very valuable benefit, and did help them stay on job when they were not feeling well," says Yvonne Abdoo, RN, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing in Ann Arbor, and author of the study. The study was funded by Textilease Medique, a Skokie, IL-based pharmaceutical firm.
Abdoo says she was surprised at the high level of agreement among workers about the value of having the medications available. "I knew that occupational health nurses felt providing such services were valuable, but the employees verified that," she observes.
What type of OTC medications was available to those employees? "There were a huge number, clustered around the body systems — headache, body ache, neuromuscular complaints, skin problems, and burns," notes Abdoo. The major complaints, in order of frequency, were headache, colds and muscle aches, burns, upper GI complaints, sore throat, cough, skin rash, hay fever/allergies, diarrhea, and toothache.
Why a nurse makes a difference
In the plant that participated in the study, employees had to go through the work site clinic and see a nurse to get their medications. Is there a significant difference to employee health and well-being between just having the OTC meds available and having them dispensed by a nurse?
"There’s a big difference," says Abdoo. "A nurse is an initial screener who will try to triage by assessing whether the initial complaint warrants additional intervention."
Debbie Woodruff, RN, COHNS, an occupational health manager of a global manufacturing firm in Largo, FL, agrees. "When employees complain of headaches, sinus problems, colds, or sore throats, that’s where the OTC drugs come into play," she notes. "But the important thing is that when the employee comes in to see an occupational health nurse [OHN], the nurse can determine the severity of the complaint. If it is severe, she can suggest the employee see their personal care physician. Also, with the nurse there, she can offer an employee the OTC drug if she believes it’s enough to get them through their job for the day. Also, they might just go home if a nurse were not there."
In addition, notes Woodruff, some common complaints could be masking something much more serious. "You could have a situation where an employee comes in believing he has indigestion, but upon further assessment, they may have a heart condition," she explains. "Or they may present with a headache. We don’t just say, Here’s a pill.’ We do a miniphysical. We might find upon checking their blood pressure that they have hypertension, and never knew it. Or an employee may complain of dizziness, and we do a blood sugar test and find out they are hypoglycemic." Nurses can also track employees who report similar complaints on more than one occasion. "Most OHNs I know will not hand out meds on a day-to-day basis," Woodruff explains. "For the most part, these drugs do what they’re designed to do. So, if I see the same person three days in a row for the same thing, I’ll most likely conclude that what we’re doing is not treating the problems, and the employee should see a physician."
Numbers are hard to come by
While anecdotal evidence (and common sense) indicates having an OHN on site to treat employees will do more to improve employee health than simply having OTC medications available, it’s extremely difficult to calculate the return on investment for the cost of having one on-site vs. the savings in productivity and reduced absenteeism.
"What you would need is to get into the worker records, have accurate absenteeism statistics, and know when employees were off and what the absence was related to," says Abdoo. "There just isn’t a standardization of data collection in the industry. Of course, you would need the permission of industries for their worker data and the workers would have to give their OK. I would like to say that we would demonstrate that there is a benefit."
If your company can’t afford an occupational health nurse, having OTC medications would certainly help, says Abdoo, but the ideal would be to have an OHN involved in some way. "I feel strongly that we need to have some type of monitoring of the employees, and we need to make sure that the workers receive education about their complaints, and that they get their questions answered," she concludes.
• Yvonne Abdoo, University of Michigan School of Nursing, 4158 400 N. Ingalls Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0482. Telephone: (734) 936-3681. E-mail: [email protected].
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content