Guidance and Position Statements

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. 

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.

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.

 

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. 

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.

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.
 

As occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) physicians are responsible for developing and implementing a travelers’ health program in the workplace, ACOEM has developed this guidance to provide up-to-date information on what vaccines, and the timing thereof, are necessary for employees who travel.
 

Maintaining healthful, safe, and productive work environments for workers in correctional settings is a matter of deep consequence to the workers and the incarcerated individuals with whom they share space. The Task Force hypothesized that an examination of the academic literature would reveal opportunities for an improved approach to research in these settings. A scoping literature review using search terms related to the occupational and environmental health of workers in correctional environments, limited to studies performed in the US was therefore conducted.

This statement by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine provides guidance for OEM providers who serve workers and employers in industries where heat exposure occurs.