Open AccessImportance of accurate employment histories of patients admitted to units of internal medicine.
Author(s) -
J P Gennart,
Peter Hoet,
Dominique Lison,
Robert Lauwerys,
Edgard Coche,
Michel Lambert
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of work, environment and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.621
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1795-990X
pISSN - 0355-3140
DOI - 10.5271/sjweh.1689
Subject(s) - medicine , medical record , university hospital , occupational medicine , family medicine , unit (ring theory) , emergency medicine , psychology , occupational exposure , surgery , mathematics education
A study was undertaken to assess the importance of systematically recording occupational histories of patients admitted to an internal medicine unit of a university hospital. Detailed information on current and past employment was obtained with questionnaires and in personal interviews from 200 inpatients over a 12-month period. Twenty-one patients (10.5%) were considered to have a "primary illness" (condition causing hospital admission) probably (4.5%) or possibly (6%) related to their current or previous occupation. From the 786 primary and secondary illness and medical antecedents diagnosed for the 200 patients examined, 70 illnesses of 55 patients were considered probably or possibly related to current or previous occupation. This pilot study emphasizes the need for accurate occupational records for patients in an internal medicine ward. This task is best performed by an appropriately trained occupational physician.