Health surveillance

Health surveillance keeps track of the medical examinations prescribed to workers and of the fitness they certify.

It is a prevention and protection action, so it follows the common cycle. What changes is the vocabulary — prescriptions and examinations — and the certificate, which attests fitness for the job.

Prescriptions and visits

• A prescription defines the health surveillance need: this protocol applies to these workers, it must be repeated at this interval.
• A visit is one medical examination on a date, with the workers enrolled in it.

The prescription usually comes from the risk assessment: a worker exposed to a given hazard is subject to a given protocol. Linking the prescription to the work phase or the substance that requires it keeps that chain visible — see Link the resources that require an action.

The certificate

The certificate attests fitness for the task, with the expiry from which the next examination is calculated. It is the most sensitive document of the five types: it concerns health data, and who can see it is governed by the permissions of the health surveillance area of the office.

What to do here

The procedures are the common ones: create the prescription · add the recipients · schedule a visit · enrol the workers · record the outcome · issue the certificates.