Donna Lee Gardner
• What information can I share with the employer for health screenings? HIPAA is very specific regarding personal health information. You need to have the client company’s employees sign consent for the release of any PHI to the employer, from blood pressure results, lab results, and general screening like vision, weight, and BMI. Aggregated data of the employer screening identifying the total number of employees screened and the high risks identified like a number of elevated blood pressures or glucose abnormal numbers are appropriate as long as no reference to a specific employee is made.

Integrating Occupational Health and Employee Health

Jackie Burt

How can you sell your community a product if your health institute does not trust you to care for your own employees? It is important organizations look at themselves and provide their experiences of success to potential clients.

Occupational skin disease is more common than one may think. It can strike an employee in a variety of settings from healthcare to housekeeping. The most common occupational skin disease is contact dermatitis.

Though not quite a discernable trend, the growing number of health systems that have opted to merge their occupational health and employee health programs are reaping rewards not only monetarily but also for the health status of their workers.

The NAOHP Board held its spring quarter meeting on May 14, 2014, via teleconference. NAOHP Board President Dr. Steve Crawford, Executive Director Frank Leone, and board members Debbie Borisjuk, Trena Williams, Marilyn Trinkle, and Brenda Jacobsen were present. Director of Operations Madeline Tan and VISIONS Editor Isabelle Walker were also in attendance.

The American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine (http://aaucm.org/) reports that since 2008 the number of urgent care centers in the United States has increased from approximately 8,000 to 9,300 and between 50 and 100 new clinics are likely to open annually for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, the Urgent Care Association of America’s (www.ucaoa.org/) 2012 benchmarking survey found that in 2011, the average number of patients per day per location was 51— up from 45 or 13% in 2008. As occupational health programs continue to add prevention and wellness services to their model, it makes sense for the two entities to merge.

By definition, standards are the rules for the provision of care and protocols are the steps required to achieve them.

Effective revenue management is key to the growth and sustainability of any business. A winning revenue management strategy goes way beyond sales and marketing 101.

Operational efficiency is essential to minimize redundancy and waste in any business and occupational health is no exception. However, attaining operational efficiency in occupational health takes customized strategies to address the industry’s unique problems and goals.