Imran Ghafur1, Drushca Lalloo, Ewan B Macdonald, Manju Menon. 1. From Salus Occupational Health, Safety and Return to Work Services (Drs Ghafur, Lalloo, and Menon), Hamilton, UK; and Healthy Working Lives Group (Dr Macdonald), University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Occupational health (OH) practice is framed by legal, ethical, and regulatory requirements. Integrating this information into daily practice can be a difficult task. We devised evidence-based framework standards of good practice that would aid clinical management, and assessed their impact. METHODS: The clinical algorithm was the method deemed most appropriate to our needs. Using "the first OH consultation" as an example, the development, implementation, and evaluation of an algorithm is described. RESULTS: The first OH consultation algorithm was developed. Evaluation demonstrated an overall improvement in recording of information, specifically consent, recreational drug history, function, and review arrangements. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical algorithms can be a method for assimilating and succinctly presenting the various facets of OH practice, for use by all OH clinicians as a practical guide and as a way of improving quality in clinical record-keeping.
OBJECTIVE: Occupational health (OH) practice is framed by legal, ethical, and regulatory requirements. Integrating this information into daily practice can be a difficult task. We devised evidence-based framework standards of good practice that would aid clinical management, and assessed their impact. METHODS: The clinical algorithm was the method deemed most appropriate to our needs. Using "the first OH consultation" as an example, the development, implementation, and evaluation of an algorithm is described. RESULTS: The first OH consultation algorithm was developed. Evaluation demonstrated an overall improvement in recording of information, specifically consent, recreational drug history, function, and review arrangements. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical algorithms can be a method for assimilating and succinctly presenting the various facets of OH practice, for use by all OH clinicians as a practical guide and as a way of improving quality in clinical record-keeping.
Authors: Elisabeth Björk Brämberg; Teresia Nyman; Lydia Kwak; Akbar Alipour; Gunnar Bergström; Liselotte Schäfer Elinder; Ulric Hermansson; Irene Jensen Journal: Int Arch Occup Environ Health Date: 2017-02-15 Impact factor: 3.015