Occupational Medicine

The complete recovery of a single employee can equate to gains in productivity organization-wide.

With the huge variety of occupational health issues that can impact an employee’s ability to perform their job, occupational medicine plays a key role in the stability of an organization. Vector Medical’s RCPSC-certified occupational medicine specialists are the best-qualified physicians to lead an organization’s occupational medicine initiatives.

Our specialists have been proven to improve the path of employee recovery by increasing the overall success of return-to-work plans and disability management efforts. They are also experts in the secondary prevention of physical and chemical hazards, such as biological monitoring, and are deeply experienced in overseeing worker medical fitness for duty and medical surveillance programs.

The below services are all led and overseen by our RSPCS-certified occupational medicine specialists.

Medical Director Services: Your Personal Expert

At Vector Medical, we believe in the value of direct communication. That is why we offer a dedicated occupational medicine specialist to every organization we work with. This expert acts as your organization’s personal medical director – a point-person to support your employee health team on all complex employee medical issues.

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Your Dedicated Expert Can:

  • Help your employee health team adjudicate complex disability claims
  • Provide expedited guidance to prevent unnecessary WSIB / WCB claims
  • Deliver clinical / technical training sessions to your employee health team
  • Oversee clinical case-conferences
  • Conduct doctor-to-doctor phone interviews with an employee’s treating physician for clarity on suggested absence durations, fitness for duty determinations, return-to-work plans, etc.
  • Review employee medical files to determine if an independent medical evaluation is necessary

Workplace Medical Surveillance: Our Top-Down Approach

Vector Medical takes a proactive approach to workplace health and safety. While we can help you develop medical surveillance programs in response to Ministry of Labour orders or following employee exposure to workplace hazards, we believe in setting up programs in advance of these events to prevent occupational disease and injury before you have a problem.

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Program Development

We provide you a dedicated medical director to work with your health and safety team to customize medical surveillance policies and protocols that meet the unique regulatory and safety requirements of your worksite(s).

We use a 4-stage model based on best practices in occupational medicine to develop your medical surveillance program.

  1. Conduct a worksite risk assessment to identify chemical, physical, biological, and/or psychological hazards.
  2. Evaluate risks associated with employee exposure to identified hazards.
  3. Develop policies and procedures for the prevention of employee exposure.
  4. Customize medical surveillance testing protocols for employees at risk of exposure.

Medical Fitness for Duty Program Development

Many jobs in safety-sensitive workplaces require employees to meet specific health and fitness requirements. These requirements are set in place to ensure that the employee is “fit” to perform their dangerous job and to protect that employee, their colleagues and the general public from potential workplace accidents. Below is an overview of the various Fitness-for-Duty-related services facilitated by our team of Canada’s top occupational medicine experts.

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Review of Examination Protocols: a comprehensive review of pre-employment, post-offer, periodic, and industry-specific examination protocols following:
  • A company initiative to develop / revise Fitness for Duty testing protocols
  • The introduction of new job roles in the company
  • The opening of a new site or location
  • Changes in company operations

Job Description Review: an in-depth review of all job roles to determine all necessary components of Fitness for Duty examinations.

Physical Demands Analysis (PDA) / Job Demands Analysis (JDA) Development: on-site visit by a regulated health professional (physiotherapist / kinesiologist / occupational therapist) to observe worker job demands / physical demands, PDA / JDA development, review and sign off by occupational medicine specialist.

Pre-employment and Periodic Evaluation Protocol Development: determining which employees need testing, what types of tests are needed, the frequency of testing, and what happens to employees whose tests exceed exposure limits.

Interpretation of Pre-employment and Periodic Examination Results: a review of test results from pre-employment, periodic and post-exposure medical examinations; approval or denial of clearance; treatment recommendations.

Independent Assessments of Musculoskeletal Disorders

According to the Occupational Health and Safety Council of Ontario, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) remain the number one cause of work-related lost-time claims. MSDs cost workplaces hundreds of millions of dollars from absenteeism and lost productivity.

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When Vector Medical’s occupational medicine specialists evaluate an employee’s musculoskeletal condition, it is more than just a review of the muscular / skeletal interaction. It also includes:

  • Screening for co-morbid factors which may contribute to protracted absences such as physiological, psychological, and social influences
  • Customized multi-disciplinary treatment plans to address co-morbidities
  • Detailed recovery prognosis and return-to-work plan