Company doctor is a physician, who is ordered by the employer in fulfilment of the industrial safety law (ASiG). The employer may order only physicians, who have the necessary technical instruction according to industrial medicine. Specialists for industrial medicine or physicians with the auxiliary designation industrial medicine fulfill this requirement. In individual cases the responsible physician chamber decides on the acknowledgment of the technical instruction according to industrial medicine.

Tasks

To determine in accordance with industrial safety law (ArbSchG), which European Union guidelines into German right converts, has the employer, which measures of the industrial safety are necessary (endangerment evaluation). It has to make the evaluation depending upon kind of the activities. To respect is in particular up

• the organization and the mechanism of the working place and the job
• physical, chemical and biological effects
• the organization, the selection and the use of media, in particular of working materials, machines, devices and plants as well as handling
• the organization of work and manufacturing methods, operational sequences and work time and their cooperating
• insufficient qualification and instruction of the persons employed

In addition the employer has to make the person employed possible to let be examined depending upon the dangers for its security and health with the work regularly according to industrial medicine.

With these tasks the employer avails itself according to the technical instruction of qualified physicians and specialists for industrial safety.

Details are in detail regulated in the industrial safety law (ASiG), in the dangerous material regulation, the bio material regulation, the rule for the prevention of accidents BGV a2 and further regulations.

Company doctors play an important role in operational prevention and health promotion. To their authority belong also the integration of handicapped humans into the working life, the gradual reintegration into the business life in the enterprise and the integration management after social legislation IX "§ to 84. Through their intensive integration into the working sphere and the associated entrance to completely different groups of humans they can make substantial contributions for integrated supply desired in the health system.

Larger enterprises with several thousand coworkers maintain usually own departments concerning company doctors. Those transact there physicians (work physicians) notice frequently additional tasks, approximately as emergency surgeons in-house with appropriate infrastructure and equipment.

Qualification

After the final medicine study a medical further training follows to the specialist for industrial medicine. Apart from the specialist designation industrial medicine gives it in Germany also the auxiliary designation to industrial medicine. It presupposes an already existing specialist acknowledgment in an area of the direct patient supply. For example thus specialists can acquire this auxiliary designation for general medicine or internalists. In Austria the regulation is can an auxiliary designation similarly, also there be acquired, if another specialized qualification is already present. In both cases an at least 360 hours comprehensive course is to be completed, non-medical topics from psychology, technology, right, social security nature etc. treated. Basic knowledge in these subjects is essential for the activity concerning company doctors.

Position in the enterprise

The company doctor is ordered in writing by the entrepreneur (external physician or employee of the enterprise). The company doctor is directly subordinated to the entrepreneur and has the position of a headquarter. An instruction power opposite the coworkers does not result from this position.

The company doctor is member in the industrial safety committee.

Characteristics

• In the framework of the Deregulierung and standardization of national and berufsgenossenschaftlicher regulations more deciding match area is granted to the enterprises: Thus increases industrial safety goals given, not however the details of the conversion. The entrepreneurs are only obligated to arrange and document their decisions comprehensible. Only after a negative event (accident, work-caused illness, occupational illness) by the professional association (and/or of the court) it is examined whether the measures are sufficient.
• The assignment of the company doctor is dependent on the number of the coworkers and their endangerments (endangerment classes) and from the employer is specified (see above). The minimum assignments are given by the respective occupation cooperative (see UVV BGV a2 the respective BG).
• The company doctor does not have - apart from own coworkers of the department concerning company doctors - an instruction power opposite other coworkers of the enterprise. From this one arises for the consultation limited liability on the correctness. The responsibility for the conversion of the industrial safety remains in general with the entrepreneur, who can delegate it again (transmission of entrepreneur obligations).

Company doctor in other countries

In the following European countries there are comparable certificates of competency: Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, Great Britain (united kingdom), Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Iceland, Norway. In the European Union the specialist training must amount to at least four years.

In the USA qualification and quality assurance in the work and environmental medicine of the medical specialized company become American college OF Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) noticed, as there for the medical activity generally usual. A detailed curriculum is obligation for the acknowledgment by the ACOEM.

See also

• Industrial safety law
• Industrial safety law
• Dangerous material regulation
• Specialist for industrial safety
• Industrial medicine
• Precaution according to industrial medicine
• Endangerment evaluation
• Health promotion

Related links

• Connected German operating and work physicians
• National office for industrial safety, health protection and technical security Berlin (LAGetSi)

Articles in category "Company doctor"

We found here 7 articles.

Related Websites

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• The Company Doctor - Taking the stress out of marketing
  ... brochures; direct mail; fliers; website design and development). Testimonials. Hear from our delighted clients! copyright 2003, The Company Doctor.


• Using a company doctor - Laura Ashley
  Jim Bellingham, the recently retired CFO of Laura Ashley, is a big advocate of using a company doctor.