A pre-employment physical is a collection of medical exams to evaluate if a person is fit for duty. Depending on the workplace environment and requirements, different assessments can be required. Two of the most popular employee physicals Mobile Health offers are for home health agencies and DOT regulated businesses.
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Home Health Employee Physical
In a healthcare setting, employees will be working with sick individuals, some with a low immune system. Many healthcare companies will require vaccines and a tuberculosis test to make sure you are not likely to transmit these diseases to your patients. In addition, New York State regulations have very strict requirements for home health pre-employment physicals, as well as annual assessments. These include:
- A physical exam to gather basic demographics of blood pressure, height, weight, etc.
- A tuberculosis screen usually done as a PPD implant, or QuantiFERON blood test
- If a tuberculosis screen comes back positive a chest x-ray is done to confirm results
- Titers (or vaccines) for measles and rubella
- A forensic toxicology urine drug test
DOT Certified Physicals
For drivers who work under the supervision of DOT regulations, the Department of Transportation has their own requirements for such drivers. A DOT physical must be done by a DOT certified medical examiner and undergo go a variety of tests to ensure that the driver is capable of driving a commercial motor vehicle.
Many industries require their employees to lift heavy items, specially in retail, warehouses, moving and more. In many of these cases, the job description will require that an employee be able to lift a certain weight and part of the pre-employment exam is to assess their strength.
In all these cases and more, it is a good practice to have a pre-employment drug test as well. On a general sense, drug abusers are more likely to get hurt on the job. If the job requires working with controlled substances, driving a truck, or heavy machinery, then it is even more crucial to make sure drug abusers aren’t getting hired for these positions.
When considering a pre-employment physical program, think about what the job requires, and how the employee is working. Identify the weaknesses and vulnerabilities and use the exam to identify areas of concern. It is also not a bad idea to have annual physicals as well to maintain a healthy workforce year round.
If you have questions about a pre-employment physical program, contact Mobile Health and we can discuss your business needs and how we can help solve them.
