Drug-induced impaired performance.
The use of medication is becoming increasingly common in the workforce in an effort to minimise the time away from work. Little is written about the behavioural impact of drugs and rarely is it considered in risk assessments. Employees may equally suffer from the effects of illicit drugs, alcohol or even the residual effects of anaesthesia after day-case or minimally invasive surgery. This paper sets out to accomplish three objectives: first, to review methods of evaluating behavioural effects of drugs, their strengths and weaknesses; second, to review established performance effects of principal classes of behaviourally toxic drugs on driving as a model; and third, to propose some guidelines to assist occupational physicians and other clinicians in assessing the risks incurred from drug-induced impaired performance.
Department of Public Health Sciences, St George's Hospital Medical School, London, United Kingdom.
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D'Auria
D001519:Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D017132:Workplace