1. Role of Family Physician in OH
Faisal Al Hadad
Consultant of Family Medicine
& Occupational Health
PSMMC

2. Introduction

Occupational diseases are underrecognized due to:
- the reluctance of patients to connect a health problem with
their work
- the limited time available to take a complete occupational
history

Family physicians can play an important role in improving the
recognition of occupational disease, preventing progressive
illness and disability in their own patients, and contributing to
the protection of other workers similarly exposed.

3. Taking the Occupational History
 Screening
Questions
 Comprehensive
 Additional
Occupational History
Exposure Information

4. Screening Questions

What type of work do you do?

Do you think your health problems might be related to your
work?

Are your symptoms different at work and at home?

Are you currently exposed to chemicals, dusts, metals, radiation,
noise or repetitive work?

Have you been exposed to chemicals, dusts, metals, radiation,
noise or repetitive work in the past?

Are any of your co-workers experiencing similar symptoms?

5. Comprehensive Occupational History

Job history (dates of employment, major job duties, military service)

Occupational exposures (exposures for each job duty, exposure
dosage, presence of exposure controls e.g. LEV, PPE)

Temporal relationship of symptoms to work (timing of symptoms may
be linked to the use of a certain substance, the activation of a specific
process or a change of materials)

Symptoms among co-workers

Non-occupational exposures (recreational activities, hobbies, unpaid
work, habits, drug use )

6. Additional Exposure Information
 Material
Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
 Quantitative
 Workplace
exposure data
visit

7. Consultation or Referral to an OH
Physician

The extent of a patient's exposure

The likely health effects of the exposure

Appropriate diagnostic tests

Possible workplace interventions to reduce exposure

Recommendations on the patient's return to work

8. (Legal Responsibilities (KSA

Ministry of Health

Ministry of Labour

The General Organization for Social Insurance
“available laws and regulations are in need of
modification and proper enforcement”
(WHO, 2006)