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Med. Pr. 2002;53(3)

Collaboration and information flow between occupational medicine and primary health care doctors

Współpraca i przepływ informacji - lekarz medycyny pracy i lekarz leczący

Teresa Kudaś, Grażyna Wośkowiak

Abstract

The lack of established rules of collaboration and information flow between occupational medicine doctors and primary health care doctors not only hinders the health prophylactics, but also constrains the treatment efficiency. Although article 7 of the Occupational Medicine Act provides that an occupational medicine doctor is obliged to pass the information on the health condition of persons covered by the preventive program to a primary health care doctors, this obligation is usually accomplished unilaterally and very rarely.
The establishment of a new model of mutual information transmission and collaboration between both parties is essential. Doctors responsible for prevention should inform occupational medicine doctors about health problems observed during preventive examinations of patients and about the relationship between diseases experienced by them and their working conditions, as well as about the treatment already undertaken. In turn, occupational medicine doctors should obtain information on the health conditions of candidates for vocational schools, students, persons applying for job and workers performing their jobs in various occupational exposures, especially those returning to work after a long-term sickness.
The authors also give examples of medical certificates.

Key words

collaboration, occupational medicine doctor, primary health care doctor, referral and medical certificate forms