Guidance and Position Statements

Guidance and Position Statements

ACOEM provides recommendations for occupational health professionals on managing various situations which may arise in their practice or state the College’s position on a particular subject. These documents may be based upon the scientific literature or consensus opinion.
Occupational Electronic Health Records - Recommendations for the Design and Implementation of Information Systems in OEM Practice

Occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) clinicians require specialized electronic health records (EHRs) to address the privacy, data governance, interoperability, and medical surveillance concerns that are specific to occupational health. ACOEM presents 10 recommendations that specialized occupational EHR systems (OEHRs) should meet to serve the information needs and practice requirements of OEM clinicians. 

Best Practices in Documenting and Coding High-Value Care in Workers' Compensation Encounters

Elements of workers' compensation care deviate from the usual pattern of ambulatory services causing providers of workers’ compensation care to face challenges in billing and auditing practices resulting in underpayment when providing high-value care based on evidence-based guidelines. However, recent changes in Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rules on documentation requirements for coding outpatient evaluation and management encounters offer an opportunity for occupational health clinicians to be paid appropriately for care that follows occupational medicine practice guidelines. This article provides guidance for documenting high-value workers’ compensation care.

Long COVID

This guidance statement reviews the pathophysiology of severe acute COVID-19 and long COVID and provides pragmatic approaches to long COVID symptoms, syndromes, and conditions in the occupational setting. Disability laws and workers’ compensation are also addressed.

ACOEM Statement on Adult Immunization

ACOEM recommends that adults follow immunization recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce their risks from vaccine‐preventable illnesses. ACOEM believes that staying current with immunization recommendations will help protect the health of the American workforce, avoid needless work absences, and ultimately promote a healthy economy.
 

A Comprehensive Obesity Benefit as a Guide for Employers on the Core Components of Obesity Care: Guidance from ACOEM Roundtable on Obesity

This article focuses on the core components of obesity care and the need for employers to offer a comprehensive obesity benefit (COB) as part of employee insurance coverage. In May 2022, ACOEM convened a roundtable meeting, which brought together five corporate medical directors and representatives from aerospace/defense and energy industries to learn about the disease of obesity and provide clinical insights regarding health and safety in their respective industries. 

Role and Value of the Corporate Medical Director

The role of the Corporate Medical Director (CMD) has received increased attention during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to evolve. This updated guidance addresses the role and value of the CMD in maintaining and enhancing worker health and productivity.

Legalization of Cannabis - Implications for Workplace Safety

ACOEM has revised it 2019 position statement on cannabis use, advocating for increased research and collaboration between all stakeholders in defining and/or measuring the impairment risks of cannabis products use as it relates to the workplace. This includes the development and implementation of scientifically based methods for monitoring and testing for impairment from any of the myriad of substances that can cause it. Workplace policies that employers should establish are addressed.

 

Electronic Health Records and Occupational Data A Call for Promoting Interoperability

ACOEM proposes the criteria which EHR systems should meet to effectively share occupational health information to optimize medical care and improve the health of American workers. ACOEM supports the secure collection and incorporation of data about a patient’s job duties, occupational hazards, and function in EHRs. 

Guidance for the Prevention and Treatment of Monkeypox (Mpox)

ACOEM provides this guidance on monkeypox (mpox) for occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) physicians and other health professionals responsible for preventing and treating monkeypox among health care workers and those workers who may have skin-to-skin contact with others (e.g., schools, correctional facilities, laboratories, veterinary settings, sex workers, etc.). This document is also intended to address some of the associated work-related issues.