Many family physicians or primary care providers will see occupational diseases in their daily practice. Physicians can play an important role in the prevention and early recognition of occupational diseases. Recognizing these diseases can be challenging for a variety of reasons, including the long latency period between some exposures and disease onset and the multifactorial nature of these diseases.[1]
Occupational diseases can be caused or exacerbated by conditions in the workplace. Some examples of occupational diseases include noise-induced hearing loss, respiratory diseases (e.g., asbestosis, silicosis, occupational asthma or COPD, occupational allergic rhinitis), cancers (e.g., mesothelioma, lung cancer), chemical or heavy metal poisoning (e.g., carbon monoxide, lead, mercury, cadmium), skin conditions (e.g., allergic or irritant contact dermatitis, cancers), and infectious diseases (e.g., HBV from blood and body fluid exposures, TB, zoonotic diseases).
You can help your patients navigate through WorkSafeBC by incorporating occupational screening questions into your patient history. This helps identify potential exposures in the workplace that may be contributing to your patients’ symptoms. Some useful questions include:[1]
A more detailed occupational history should include:[1]
If a patient develops a disease and you or they are concerned that the disease may be work related, a claim can be initiated by submitting a Form 8 to WorkSafeBC. WorkSafeBC claims require a medical diagnosis submitted by a physician or other qualified practitioner. Your patient’s claim will be reviewed by Occupational Disease Services, a specialized claims unit of WorkSafeBC. There are two main requirements for an occupational disease to be considered work related by WorkSafeBC: the disease must be recognized by WorkSafeBC as an occupational disease and the disease must be due to the nature of your patient’s current or past employment.
If WorkSafeBC accepts your patient’s claim as an occupational disease, then they may be eligible for benefits and services, which can include compensation for lost wages, coverage of health care costs, support with rehabilitation, or a permanent disability benefit. If your patient’s disease is due to the nature of their employment but they have not lost time from work, they can still claim for medical costs and treatment for the occupational disease. If your patient has a terminal illness or passes away from an accepted occupational disease, your patient’s spouse or dependents may be eligible for compensation benefits.
—Olivia Sampson, MPH, FRCPC, ABPM, CCFP
Further information
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This article is the opinion of WorkSafeBC and has not been peer reviewed by the BCMJ Editorial Board.
1. Taiwo O, Mobo BH, Cantley L. Recognizing occupational illnesses and injuries. Am Fam Physician 2010;82:169-174.
2. College of Family Physicians of Canada. Occupational medicine clinical snippet, August 2016: Taking an occupational history. Accessed 25 January 2021. https://portal.cfpc.ca/resourcesdocs/uploadedFiles/Directories/Committees_List/2016-08%20Taking%20an%20Occupational%20History%20(Final).pdf [12].
Links
[1] https://bcmj.org/cover/march-2021
[2] https://bcmj.org/author/olivia-sampson-md-ccfp-mph-frcpc-abpm
[3] https://bcmj.org/node/8346
[4] https://bcmj.org/sites/default/files/BCMJ_Vol63_No2-worksafebc.pdf
[5] https://bcmj.org/print/worksafebc/occupational-diseases-and-taking-occupational-history
[6] https://bcmj.org/printmail/worksafebc/occupational-diseases-and-taking-occupational-history
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[10] https://www.worksafebc.com/en/resources/health-care-providers/forms/exposure-registry-program-form-41m1?lang=en
[11] http://www.worksafebc.com/en/claims/report-workplace-injury-illness/types-of-claims/occupational-diseases
[12] https://portal.cfpc.ca/resourcesdocs/uploadedFiles/Directories/Committees_List/2016-08%20Taking%20an%20Occupational%20History%20(Final).pdf
[13] https://bcmj.org/modal_forms/nojs/webform/176
[14] https://bcmj.org/%3Finline%3Dtrue%23citationpop