Occupational medicine

The occupational medicine is a medical speciality which relates to the prevention of the industrial accidents and of the occupational diseases.

Indeed, with the development of industrialization, the impact of the work conditions on the health of the workers took an increasingly significant part, in particular:

accident risks related to the activity (falls height, handling error of vehicles and gear lifting, risks crushing and wounds related to the parts moving);
risks related to the posture: lifting of load, sitting position during one long life;
risks related to the emanations of hazardous substances;
problems involved in work on screen of computer.

That led to the creation of a medical speciality centered on:

analysis of the risks;
the council and training of the employees and the workers;
the control of the health of the workers.

Occupational medicine in France

In France, the occupational medicine is a medical department established by the law of the October 11th 1946 for all the companies of the private sector for the benefit of their employees. The Law of December 26th, 1966 extended the occupational medicine to all the employees of the agricultural sector and the voluntary owners; it is managed by the Agricultural Social insurance system (MSA).

The company doctor is a specialist in professional pathologies and occupational hygiene. He is titular of a diploma of special studies of occupational medicine. The access to the formation is done by the way of the contest of the boarding school then 4 years of theoretical and practical training after 6 years the joint base. Often the company doctor follows additional trainings: in ergonomics, psycho-dynamics of work, epidemiology, protection against radiation, toxicology, aerospatiale…

Its exclusively preventive role consists in “avoiding any deterioration of the health of the workers because of their work”. With this intention, the activities of the company doctors are distributed between medical examinations and actions in work environment (visits of companies, evaluation of the occupational hazards, proposals for an installation of station,…) this prevention can be done on an individual mode (during the consultations) or collective

The companies must have a company doctor, either by adhering to an association between firms health at the work, or by creating their own department of health with work if the size of the manpower of the employees reached 2 200 paid or requires 2 134 annual medical examinations.

Since the creation of the institution, several decrees on enforcement of a law made evolve/move the practical methods of its implementation. The legislative part is codified with and following of the Labor regulation and the lawful part with and following of the Labor regulation.

The occupational medicine is financed by the employers. Managements and labor exert a control on his organization and its operation. Currently, this control is failing, by numerical insufficiency trade-union representatives of employees.

Other occupational medicines:

the public office of State: the medicine of prevention;
the hospital public office: hospital occupational medicine;
the territorial public function: the professional medicine and of prevention;
the agricultural sector: occupational medicine in agriculture (the access to this exercise requires to be titular of one THESE, one OF or diploma occupational medicine of the National institute of Agricultural Medicine (www.inma.fr)) ;
the entertainment world: Company doctor at the medical center of the Stock Exchange.

To note:

* a medical visit with the occupational medicine is obligatory at the time of recruitment, then to the maximum every two years, like after a sick leave for industrial accident of more than 7 days or a stop for disease of more than 21 days; in the event of special risks the visit of recruiting can be obligatory before the recruiting and the follow-up all the 6 or 12 months.

* the company doctor takes part in the formation of the Rescuer-first-aid workers of work, and in the drafting of the contents of the case of pharmacy of the company.

* the company doctor has the right to visit a company without preventing to inspect the conditions of hygiene and safety; it must draw up the card of company which notes the risks and hold it up to date.

* the name and the phone number of the company doctor must be posted in the company, so that the employees can call upon him to make for example note failure with the obligations of the employer hygiene safety.

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