Assessment of clinical consultations in an academic occupational medicine clinic.

Background: Occupational medicine clinical consultation services are relatively under-recognized and under-utilized in Canada.

Aims: To describe clinical consultations in a university-affiliated general occupational medicine clinic.

Methods: All of the charts of patients seen in referral to our general occupational medicine clinic over a 2-year period were reviewed to extract information to provide a descriptive summary of the nature of these consultations. We evaluated patient demographic factors and work- and exposure-related information, as well as the source of referral and the nature of the presenting clinical problem.

Results: The 131 patients had a mean (SD) age of 50.6 (14.0) years, 55% were men and 62% were referred by their family physicians. They presented with a broad spectrum of clinical problems, with neurological problems (29%) and multisystem problems (24%) being the most prevalent. The patients worked in a variety of occupational sectors, with manufacturing and the service sector being the most frequent. Seventy-two per cent of patients came for investigation of an occupational problem and 28% came for an environmental issue. Only 36% of patients were found to have their presenting problem due to an exposure, which highlights the need for in-depth clinical assessment before making a causal attribution.

Conclusions: This study provides information about the nature of clinical problems seen in an academic general occupational medicine referral clinic. The results might assist in increasing awareness and utilization of occupational medicine clinical services, which are beneficial for patient education, diagnosis and management.