Occupational Medicine

2023 Author: Wallace Forman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 11:04

Occupational medicine: health protection in the company

Occupational physicians have supportive and advisory tasks towards employers and employees, but also towards staff bodies and safety representatives, some of which are enshrined in law. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (ASchG), employers are obliged to ensure the safety and health protection of their employees. For this purpose, so-called preventive services, i.e. occupational physicians for occupational medical care and safety specialists for safety-related matters, must be appointed. Occupational physicians have special training and support and advise in the areas of health protection,humane work design and health promotion related to working conditions.

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The occupational physicians regularly inspect the workplaces, are in constant contact with all those affected and work closely with the safety specialist in the company and, if necessary, with other specialists.

Areas of responsibility

The area of responsibility of occupational physicians includes, among other things:

• The prevention and analysis of work-related health problems and occupational diseases,
• the ergonomic and work psychological design of workplaces and processes as well as work organization based on the latest scientific findings,
• the assessment and reduction of hazards and burdens through a solution-oriented approach,
• the permanent integration of the chronically ill or people with special needs and
• occupational health surveillance.

Occupational medicine in the company

Employers can appoint occupational physicians in the following ways and thus fulfill their legal obligations:

• As doctors employed in the company (in-house occupational physicians),
• as external occupational physicians,
• by working with an occupational health center or
• with a prevention center run by the accident insurance institutions in workplaces with up to 50 employees.

Note The labor inspectorate provides an up-to-date list of occupational health centers.

Additional Information:

• AUVA
• Austrian Society for Occupational Medicine