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Occupational medicine, as it is known today, has evolved a great deal since the medical specialty “industrial medicine” emerged in the early 20th century to help employers select job applicants with the physical qualities needed to perform a job, and treat injured workers so they could return to the workplace more quickly. Today, occupational medicine is the medical specialty devoted to prevention and management of occupational and environmental injury, illness and disability and promotion of health and productivity of workers, their families and communities.

While occupational medicine can include a variety of services, most physicians choose only to offer a few. Physician Quality Care OCCMed’s range of services, however, includes treatment of workplace injury and illness; health fairs; pre-employment and fit-for-duty exams; various laboratory testing—including screening for drugs, alcohol and heavy metals; CAOHC-certified hearing testing; NIOSH-approved spirometry; preventive care; educational programs; industrial hygiene; protecting the workforce; and more.

“Several years ago, we realized that no one was coming close to offering a comprehensive occupational medicine program,” said Jimmy Hoppers, MD, who operates OCCMed in Jackson. “There were a couple of providers offering a few things, but employers were still having to contract for services from multiple companies, often out of state. There are a lot of folks doing some level of occupational medicine, but we are the only company that has its roots firmly in a medical clinic. Having that foundational, medical understanding adds immeasurably to our program and allows us to offer an all-inclusive menu of services that we can tailor to the company’s needs and schedule.”

“To offer a comprehensive program, it takes education, training and certification,” said Melanie Hoppers, MD, medical director of Physicians Quality Care OCCMed. “The training our staff undergoes is not cheap and it’s quite extensive, but it is absolutely necessary to provide the services clients need and to meet the numerous regulatory agency requirements employers must comply with.”

One of the challenges in occupational medicine is ensuring companies are in compliance with the myriad government rules and regulations. In 1970, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC). Occupational medicine providers must always be up-to-date on the various regulatory requirements and compliancy issues.

As the medical director for Physicians Quality Care OCCMed, Melanie Hoppers is highly knowledgeable of the various regulatory and technical requirements needed for a comprehensive occupational medicine program. This includes the numerous OSHA requirements with which companies must comply. She is also a certified Medical Review Officer, a requirement of the Tennessee Drug Free Work Place program.

One of the biggest areas of occupational medicine the Hoppers deal with is audiometric testing. “Our state-of-the-art mobile unit allows us to take our audiometric services directly to the employees on-site,” Jimmy Hoppers said. “There has been such a demand for this service that we recently re-configured our mobile unit to be able to test ten employees at a time. We utilize Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC) certified technicians and our testing equipment complies with OSHA regulations and exceeds ANSI requirements. It is completely computerized and can offer voice instructions in 16 languages.”

Many companies have long realized the value of keeping their workforce healthy; some have even established employee health clinics on their premises. “For a self-insured company, using an on-site clinical program such as ours can result in substantial savings,” Hoppers continued. “We contract for a flat fee and offer medical services such as sick visits, annual exams, pre-employment physicals – whatever the company needs. They save administrative fees normally paid to the insurance company, the employee has no co-pay, time away from work is kept to a minimum, and the actual cost per visit is much lower. Additionally, any company that successfully completes our Tennessee Drug Free Workplace program receives a five percent discount on their workers’ compensation premiums. It all adds up pretty quickly.”

“Occ-Med programs are cost effective and can positively impact the bottom line by helping employees stay safer and healthier on the job, and by ensuring company compliance with government regulations,” said Melanie Hoppers. “Several times we have diagnosed a potentially serious condition in an employee through a routine on-site exam even though there were no obvious symptoms. It goes without saying that early diagnosis usually leads to a better outcome.”

“In two area manufacturing plants, we have established on-site clinics inside the facilities themselves,” Jimmy Hoppers said. “One is staffed eight hours a week, the other is staffed 20 hours with plans to increase to 30 or 40 hours in the near future. Our on-site clinics, like all of Physicians Quality Care OCCMed’s services, can be customized to the individual needs of the employer. When Physicians Quality Care OCC Med teams with a local employer, everybody wins.”

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