Collaboration of occupational physicians with national health system and general practitioners in Italy

Abstract

A good cooperation between occupational physicians and other healthcare professionals is essential in order to achieve an overall improvement of workers/patients’ well-being. Unfortunately, collaboration between occupational physicians and other physicians is often lacking or very poor. In this context, using a self-administered questionnaire, we investigated the cooperation of Italian occupational physicians with the National Health System (NHS) facilities and with the general practitioners in order to identify any potential critical issues that may hinder an effective and collaborative relationships between these professionals. The survey was conducted from October 2013 to January 2014. Nearly all of the interviewed occupational physicians have had contacts with colleagues of the Departments for Prevention and Occupational Health and Safety of the NHS. Regarding the relationship between occupational physicians and general practitioners findings showed that their cooperation is quite difficult and it would not seem a two-way collaboration. Cooperation between occupational physicians and NHS would benefit from the development of communication strategies and tools enhancing the support and assistance functions of the NHS facilities. The elaboration and subsequent application of operational guidelines and standardized procedures of communication would also improve collaboration between occupational physicians and general practitioners that is currently considered rather insufficient and incomplete.

Image and perception of physicians as barriers to inter-disciplinary cooperation? – the example of German occupational health physicians in the rehabilitation process: a qualitative study

“…Negative and/or sterotypical group perecptions have been reported in other studies: For example RPs being unaware of the OP’s role and function in rehabilitation [ 7 , 8 , 10 , 13 , 59 ]; patient unawareness of of the existence of OPs or their function, as well as patient mistrust of OPs as barriers to cooperation in the rehabilitation process [ 4 , 7 , 12 , 27 , 60 – 62 ]; or a lack of understanding of the OP’s role among physicians [ 19 , 61 , 63 ]. Several studies mention PCPs [ 14 – 18 , 20 , 59 , 64 , 65 ] or RPs [ 8 , 9 ] mistrusting OPs (e.g. in terms of OPs not working in the interest of the patient or breaching confidentiality regulations).…”

“…German OPs in particular felt excluded from the rehabilitation process [ 10 – 13 ]. Although not focused on rehabilitation, insufficient cooperation between OPs and PCPs was reported in a literature review from Germany [ 14 ], as well as surveys from Germany [ 15 ], France [ 16 ], and Italy [ 17 , 18 ].…”

Information exchange using a prescribed form and involvement of occupational health nurses promotes occupational physicians to collaborate with attending physicians for supporting workers with illness in Japan

“…These findings are in agreement with several other reports showing that educational interventions were effective in promoting collaborative behaviors among physicians5, 27, 34, 36, 40 ) . These collaboration between occupational and clinical medicine comprises cooperation between OPs and other categories of physicians such as specialists, general practitioners, and rehabilitation clinicians5, 11, 23,24,25,26,27,28 ) . Generally, larger companies have more advanced benefit programs and better systems of occupational healthcare41, 42 ) .…”

“…The importance of collaboration between OPs and APs has been highlighted in European countries, where primary healthcare and occupational health are integrated19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28 ) . In 2010, the United Kingdom implemented the Statement of Fitness for Work (Fit Note)29 ) , which stipulates that general practitioners (GPs) provide support to workers who wish to return to work following sick leave; its focus is on facilitating the integration of their diseases or disabilities into their work30,31,32 ) .…”

Gender differences and occupational factors for the risk of obesity in the Italian working population

“…Workplaces should be considered in all respects potential obesogenic environments since they can directly affect weight-related behaviors and the lifestyles of workers while at the same time exposing them to occupational risk factors that can have a significant impact on the physiology of the human body (20)(21)(22)(23). For example, scientific progress and technological innovation have greatly influenced the labor market, leading to increased levels of computerization, automation and mechanization (21,24,25). These changes have modified the types of task in which workers are involved, reducing strenuous heavy work while increasing sedentary jobs (26)(27)(28).…”