Occupational Health Management 2008-04-01

Demonstrate your worth with dollar figures, or risk layoffs

This is a three-part series on using financial data to demonstrate the value of occupational health programs. This month, we report on how to demonstrate cost savings to your employer and give a checklist of data you should present.

Use this checklist for cost/benefit analysis

Below are key pieces of data you should include when presenting senior management with a cost/benefit analysis, recommends Tamara Y. Blow, manager of occupational health services at Philip Morris USA:

Know true cost of obesity: Related lost productivity

Obesity-related absenteeism costs employers $4.3 billion per year, with female workers accounting for about 75% of that amount, according to a new study.

Updated guidelines for low back disorders

Here are key changes in updated evidence-based guidelines for low back disorders from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM):

Use quality data to improve employee health benefits

Many employers have not examined data on physician quality that could improve the value and quality of the health benefits they offer, says a new study.

Can annual fit-tests be streamlined?

Fit-testing of N95 filtering face piece respirators could become significantly quicker under a new protocol proposed by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

States loosen HIV testing laws on patient consent

Obtaining source patient consent for HIV testing after a bloodborne pathogen exposure might slowly be getting easier. Some states have responded to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation to make HIV testing a routine part of health care.

Noise in the kitchen tops recommended level

Dishes are churning in the dishwasher, metal utensils are clanging against pots, the radio is blaring, and someone is running the blender and an electric can opener. The noises in a kitchen can be a cacophony as loud as a rock concert. But do they add up to an occupational hazard?

Plan education on sexual diseases

There are about 19 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) annually in the United States, "and they don't just happen to people who are promiscuous or reckless," says Fred Wyand, media and communications manager for the American Social Health Association (ASHA) in Research Triangle Park, NC.

Rapid test approved for MRSA, influenza

In what could be a boon for infection surveillance and treatment programs, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new rapid test for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that can identify the bug in two hours.

Flu vaccine revamped for next season

Haven already battled flu this year with a mismatched vaccine, public health officials have taken the unprecedented step of changing all three influenza strains in the vaccine under development for the 2008-2009 season.

Occupational Health Management Archives – April 1, 2008

April 1, 2008