HASC Tommy Hysler
Fitness for duty is obviously very, very important for any industry, any company and anyone with a job title. You have to be healthy and fit to do your job; otherwise everyone is up a creek.
Fitness for duty evaluation options run the gamut from a $20 drug screen to a $50 medical examination to a $100 functional capacity evaluation and beyond.
The problem is there is no governing agency that says, “This is what you should do” or “This is what you must do” to determine fitness for duty. A lot of times, unless an agency says, “This is what you must do,” we don’t do it. And then we get hit by all sorts of injuries, chronic diseases and OSHA recordables, and it is a nightmare.
Drug screenings, physicals and any testing that companies administer prior to sending an employee out into the field are conducted with a singular goal in mind: to make sure that employee can do that job safely and healthfully.
The Americans with Disabilities Act says a drug screening is the only test a company can administer to a potential employee before he or she is offered a job. It is not considered a medical test, which is why it can be administered before that conditional job offer is made. Any other type of screening — whether it is a health questionnaire, a physical exam or anything that is going to ask about health — must be given to that employee after the conditional job offer has been made.
But what should we be doing to reduce injuries and detect conditions that may impose a safety risk? That’s what best practice is all about. Employers can do as little or as much as they want. The problem is oftentimes doing little leads to costly consequences.
Data indicates 80 percent of U.S. workers have a chronic disease, with 22 percent of workers having one or more chronic diseases; 19 percent of workers have five or more chronic diseases. Does a drug test screen for these kinds of conditions? No.
Oftentimes, companies will hire someone and then find out the first day or week that they are unfit to do that job. Perhaps it’s heat tolerance. Maybe it’s side effects of their medication. Many times it just comes down to the employees not being physically able to perform the job tasks.
Many employers utilize the questionnaire screening process. The questionnaire method is the cheapest but least reliable screening method for identifying risk because — let’s face it — people lie.
Basic physical examinations can help employers identify a treasure trove of risk. A medical provider-based interview and hands-on examination can identify hypertension, diabetes, scars from previous surgeries or injuries, joint restrictions, mental deficiencies and more. There is no substitute for a physical examination.
An extension of basic physical examinations, the Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) is becoming increasingly relevant. More and more companies we see at the Houston Area Safety Council are including FCEs in their health screening processes.
The FCE is an objective evaluation of a person’s functionality. It forces the worker to demonstrate he or she can effectively complete certain job tasks. It eliminates bias and gives employers a yes-or-no indication as to whether a person is physically capable of performing the job in question.
An FCE identifies physical problems beyond those detected by the physical exam, finding 5 to 10 percent of those hired would not be able to perform their jobs without physical demand issues. It can also identify metabolic issues, such as elevated heart rate and blood pressure, that only surface while putting the body through the job task demands.
The cost of an FCE varies, but most are less than $200. Studies indicated the savings not only outweighed the cost of the FCE but also showed a decrease in workers’ compensation costs. One study showed as much as $18 saved per $1 spent on the test. In other words, a $100 test would save $1,800 per employee tested.
Ultimately, any fitness for duty examination should encompass many aspects, but an FCE addresses many more of those aspects by identifying pre-existing and inevitable disease and injury. It is cost-effective, available and proven.
For more information, visit www.hasc.com or call (281) 476-9900.
