How to Implement an Occupational Health Screening Program

Posted: April 25, 2019

When deciding to implement an occupational health screening program for your business, along with your drug and alcohol testing policy, you may have uncertainty on the different types of physicals to include. Info Cubic, LLC would like to supply some common types of physicals, and the types of job positions they would cover.

Keep in mind that under the American Disabilities Act (ADA), pre-employment physical examinations cannot be completed until a conditional employment offer has been extended to the candidate. Otherwise, candidates who are qualified for employment may be subject to a pre-employment physical examination. 

Basic Pre-Employment Physical

This is part of the pre-hire process for many companies. It involves the potential employee completing a medical exam to ensure the individual is physically and mentally fit for the job.  

Here is a list of components that are included in the basic pre-employment physical:

• Health history questionnaire 
• Vision test
• Hearing test
• Blood pressure test
• Dip stick urine test
• Height and weight 
• Body system questionnaire

There are reasons why some employees may fail a physical. The stress of the event may cause their blood pressure to register high, or they may forget their eyeglasses and can’t pass the vision test without them.

Another reason an individual may fail the physical would be if the medical examiner determines the candidate is unable to safely complete functions of their job duties due to other underlying health issues. The medical examiner would then direct the employee to see their primary physician to be reevaluated and/or obtain a letter indicating there are no stipulations preventing the candidate to proceed with the position. 

The resulting report should indicate that the candidate either passed or failed and allow you to execute next steps based on your company’s policy.

Human Performance Evaluation (HPE) 

Human Performance Evaluations (HPEs) are part of the pre-hire process for some companies. This type of test is a little different than the basic pre-employment physical. The HPE is always customized to a company’s specific job duties. A company that has a variety of positions with physical demands can have more than one HPE per position in order to fulfill the requirements of the individual job duties. 

The HPE may include the following requirements:

• Ability to push
• Ability to pull
• Ability to carry
• Ability to pick up
• Range of motion (squat, bend, etc.)

The amount of weight, distance and/or motion of each category is all customizable. 

The job positions that require physicals do so because they involve physical labor, like construction, truck driving, manufacturing or general labor. 

The resulting report should indicate that the candidate either passed or failed and allow you to execute next steps based on your company’s policy.

In conclusion, there are many types of physicals that an organization can build into their overall policies. The Basic Pre-Employment Physical and the Human Performance Evaluation are merely two examples that can be implemented into your drug, alcohol and occupational health screening programs. Both programs can be completed at the same facilities and are usually offered at Urgent Care locations and occupational health clinics.

Every organization and workforce are unique. Employers need to make careful considerations about the types of drug testing programs and occupational health programs that are most beneficial for your workplace.

Info Cubic, LLC offers several different options for occupational health screening components that can be implemented. Click here to view some of the occupational health screening products we offer. We are here to help guide your organization to find the best type of program(s) that fit your drug-free workplace. Give us a call today at 877-360-4636 or click here to get the conversation started.