What is occupational medicine?

Physicians specializing in this area are responsible for assessing and monitoring conditions of all kinds that affect people's ability to work, such as the following:

1. Occupational illnesses (cancers, asthma, infections, post-traumatic stress, etc.)
2. Occupational injuries (fractures, muscle damage, burns, etc.)

Several categories of health professionals are involved in the various aspects of occupational medicine (specialists and general practitioners, nurses, toxicologists, psychologists, physiotherapists, etc.). However, there is a medical specialization the general public is less familiar with called "preventive medicine and occupational medicine."

Postgraduate training allows future medical specialists to become familiar with the most recent practices in the following areas:

• occupational hygiene
• toxicology
• ergonomics
• epidemiology and biostatistics
• occupational health management and legislation

These specialists are members of the Association des spécialistes en médecine préventive du Québec (ASMPQ).

Here are several contexts where professionals practice occupational medicine:

1. Clinics and hospitals
2. Public and occupational health
3. Education and research
4. Medico-administrative and legal sectors
5. Corporate and self-employed practices

Corporate practice is most effectively carried out within multidisciplinary teams grouped under various names: "industrial and preventive medicine clinic," "corporate health clinic," etc. Generally, these clinics are private and provide a range of services, such as the following:

• Offering consulting services
• Monitoring workers' health
• Assessing corporate risk
• Studying workstations
• Evaluating workers: assessments of fitness for duty, return to work and regulatory assessments
• Providing forensic support and expert testimony, as needed, for occupational medicine issues

In Quebec, the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) establishes the rules concerning occupational injuries and illnesses. Under the regulations, employers are responsible for all the relevant costs incurred. Although employees always retain the right to consult the medical specialist of their choice, many companies establish direct links with medical clinics specialized in occupational medicine.

Such agreements allow for faster case management and potentially a significant reduction in absence and health and safety costs.