Government Report: U.S. Needs Better Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance

The timing couldn’t be better for urgent care operators who offer occupational medicine services, as a new government report challenges various stakeholders to establish more robust health surveillance practices in the workplace. A Smarter National Surveillance System for Occupational Safety and Health in the 21^st Center, published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, calls for greater coordination among federal agencies and the states, as well as the creation of regional occupational safety and health surveillance programs “to provide critical information about the relationships between work and injuries and illnesses in order to inform policy development, guide educational and regulatory activities, develop safer technologies, and enable research and prevention strategies that serve and protect all workers.” The report puts the annual cost of occupation-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths in the U.S. at $250 billion, creating a strong financial incentive for employers to ensure their workers receive prompt, quality care that shortens the duration of time away from the job. Urgent care operators with occ med programs are well positioned to provide it.