Employee Screening Programs.

Health risk screening programs should be carried out on a one-on-one basis by trained health care professionals. Health risk measures should include the following –

• Blood pressure (BP) measurements – at least two blood pressure measurements taken during the screening episode, using a mercury sphygmomanometers or regularly calibrated aneroids.    

• Blood pressure treatment status – ascertain whether the participant is under a doctor’s care, on any medication, on a prescribed diet, or any other type of treatment for hypertension.    

• Blood cholesterol measurement – total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol taken either using a properly tested and maintained table top blood analyzer providing immediate feedback to the client, or sending blood to a laboratory providing feedback using a method that is as effective as immediate feedback.    

• Cholesterol treatment status – ascertain whether the patron is under a doctor’s care, on any medication, on a prescribed diet, or any other type of treatment for high cholesterol.    

• Obesity – utilize an accepted method for estimating obesity. for example assess participants height and weight and use the 1959 Metropolitan Life Height/Weight charts or use Body Mass Index.    

   o Identify people  20% or more above their ideal weight.

• Tobacco use status – assess whether the participant currently smokes cigarettes, whether the client has quit or never smoked, and the number of cigarettes smoked/day.    

• Exercise habits – screening questions could  be limited to frequency and duration exercise. Do participants exercise in a moderately vigorous fashion at least three times per week for 30 minutes or more.    

• Diabetes – whether the customer has diabetes, and whether or not it is currently under control. A blood glucose might  be also done via finger stick and desk top analyzer. A few manufactures make available cassettes which include cholesterol and glucose measurements.

• Cerebrovascular illness or occlusive PVD – ascertain if the patron has had a stroke or other type of capillary illness.

• Family history of cardiovascular illness – ascertain whether any of the participants’ parents or siblings had a heart attack or sudden death due to heart illness before age 55.

• Coronary heart illness – ascertain when the client has had a heart attack or other kind of coronary heart illness.

• Stress – participant’s assessment of stress in work and/or personal life. A series of well-tested and validated questions reviewing  levels of stress are available from the Employee Health Program.

• Participant release form (see forms) – A release form is required in which the participant authorizes the program to draw blood for testing to send information to the participant’s medical care provider if medical risks are identified, and to obtain information from the provider about diagnosis and prescribed treatment.

• Participant interest survey – if an assessment of interest has not been accumulated previously, the screening activity must assess levels of interest in programs such as –  weight control, tobacco use cessation, fitness or exercise, stress management, nutrition, self-care, cholesterol control.

• Health education messages – the screener must review with the participant his/her identified health risks and what they mean to the participant’s overall health, and give the participant a written record of the blood pressure, total cholesterol, and any other physiological measures taken.

• Referral of participants for treatment – participants with elevated risks must be referred to appropriate sources of diagnosis and possible treatment following nationally or locally recognized guidelines for such referral.

Demographic information ought to include location of the screening, worksite, client’s name, address, social security number, home and work phone numbers, sex, race, birthdate, relevant job information (e.g., hourly or salaried), department number, and work shift.