title: Is an occupational examination superior to an occupational health history alone for preplacement screening in health care settings?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether preplacement recommendations following an occupationally focused medical history is different from those following an occupational consultation.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective cohort study of 172 applicants to our institution.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Following provider review of occupational history survey alone, none of the applicants had restrictions recommended. In comparison, only 163 applicants (94.7%) were recommended to be hired without restrictions following provider review of the same patient's occupational history and examination (P = 0.0078).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A well-designed questionnaire is useful for screening applicants for preplacement examinations and assures sufficient detail to allow for a large proportion of individuals to proceed to employment without an occupational examination. However, in this study, a small but statistically significant portion (5%) of applicants required occupational examinations for appropriate work recommendations.
authors.affiliation: Mayo Clinic Division of Preventive, Occupational and Aerospace Medicine, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55901, USA. newcomb.richard@mayo.edu
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Newcomb
authors.forename: Robin G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Molella
authors.forename: Prathibha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Varkey
authors.forename: Glenn M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Sturchio
authors.forename: Philip T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Hagen
authors.forename: Stephen S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.forename: William G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Buchta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004651:Employment / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006281:Health Occupations; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007586:Job Application; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D008875:Middle Aged; D009787:Occupational Medicine; D010808:Physical Examination; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014938:Work Capacity Evaluation; D055815:Young Adult