Pre-Placement exams continue to change in usage. With the spiraling costs of health care and the requirement to hire people with known and unknown medical disabilities, employers are utilizing pre-placement physical examinations as a tool for management. The benefits of a pre-placement exam include the following

• Knowledge of a previously undiscovered health problem -- Over 25% of all people examined for the first time have a health problem. These problems, if left untreated, may eventually lead to:

- excessive absenteeism

- hospitalization

- disability or death

• Information -- An exam report with recommendations to improve or better control any existing medical problem, detected or undetected.
• Health patterns -- Baseline medical information for the employee’s personal physician to be used as a comparison, if health patterns should change at a later time, or if the employee relocates to another site.
• Federal and state laws prohibit medical discrimination -- Pre-placement exams are now also being utilized as a risk management tool to help plan for short- and long-term effects on the employer’s population.
• Aggravated condition -- Permanent medical records reduce possible legal action against the company by an employee claiming work conditions have aggravated a pre-existing medical condition.

WHY DRUG SCREENING?

The illegal use of drugs is a national problem that seriously affects every American. Drug abuse not only affects individual users and their families, but it also presents new dangers and problems in the workplace.

Surveys show that the user/abuser of drugs:

• Will be late 3 times more often than workers not abusing drugs
• Will request early dismissal or time off during work hours 2.2 times more often than workers not using drugs
• Will be absent from the job 16 times more often and have 2.5 times as many absences of 8 or more days
• Will use 3 times the level of sickness benefits
• Will file 5 times the number of compensation claims
• Will be in accidents 3 to 4 times more often than employees not using drugs

Obviously, substance abuse is a workplace problem because it affects employee health and safety, productivity and health care costs. The drug screen is an effective tool in promoting a drug-free workplace.