Occupational Medicine: What is it? and why should dcs do it? january 1, 2023 james raker, dc

Occupational Medicine is the branch of medicine
that deals with worker wellness and safety. Under
federal law, departments such as OSHA,
DOT, FAA, NIOSH, Homeland Security, etc., must
enforce mandates that specified categories of workers
must undergo earmarked tests done every year, and
that the companies they work for must pay cash for the
tests! What kind of tests are we talking about? Things
like physicals, hearing tests, pulmonary function tests,
heavy metal tests, respiratory mask fit tests, drug and
alcohol tests, and more. There are cUlTently around 25
different services of which 13 are mandatory and the
others are highly utilized in most businesses. For example,
all truck drivers, plane pilots, train engineers, bus/
subway drivers, and ship captains must have a physical
every 2 years or less. They all must have drug and alcohol
tests routinely to protect the public's safety. All
firemen, policemen, hazardous cleanup crews, and garbage
truck drivers in every city must have physicals and
drug tests. All school bus drivers, utility truck drivers,
and FedEx/UPS drivers also must be tested. Teachers,
preschool workers, nursing home workers, must have
background checks and be fingerprinted mandatorily.
Workers whose jobs take them around paint or dust
must have respirator mask fit tests. People in loud jobs
must have their hearing tested annually. In all, 80-90%
of workers in the US have at least one of these tests
done every year. CUlTent spending for these tests is $33
billion a year and that total is continuing to rise.
Why should DCs incorporate Occupational Medicine
into their clinics? It can be done by DCs in all 50 states
with only a few exceptions. Namely DCs in WA, MI,
and NY can't do the DOT physicals. An especially interesting
feature is that there are only 25 or so services
and most cost very little or nothing to start. Out of the
25 services, only 5 require extra training to become certified,
but two only take 4 hours, one requires 12 hours,
and two are 20 hours (2.5-day course), which means
that all training could be done in a couple of weeks.
With that training, a DC could then offer services that
nearly every single business uses, which mean the majority
of working people in your town could be directed
to go to your office when most of them have never been
to a DC. It is an opportunity to gain access to many new
patients that need chiropractic care, but have been apprehensive,
or told not to go to a chiropractor. This approach
allows you to get paid to see new patients rather
than you paying to advertise for new patients.
I conduct drug tests for my bank and grocery store. I
do physicals and drug tests for the city and county police
and firemen. I do physicals for the garbage trucks,
electric and cable trucks, railroads, and airports. I have
paper mills, construction sites, military contractors,
school districts, and just about every other business in
town. So, when a DC asks me, "How do I know there
is some of this business in my town?" I can say factually,
"It's in every single town in America."The need. is
growing, not shrinking. The time is now to capitalize on
the opportunity. Oh, and best for last, your assistant can
do everything but the physical without you having to be
present. Talk about a great way to make cash income
with no recoupments, no downgrades, no coding issues,
no fear of an insurance calTier coming to take all their
money back.
ALL DCs SHOULD KNOW HOW TO DO THIS
AND WORK WITHIN CORPORATE AMERICA.
Live life easier, without fear, and with more cash.

​Dr. James Raker DC, FADP, CME, CWP is CEO of
OccMed For DCs, has 30 years private practice including
Occupational health of several companies
in Texarkana USA area. Has been doing DOT work
for over 25 years, was one of the first doctors in the
country to pass the DOT ce rtification and become
a Ce led Medical Examiner for the Dept of Transportation of
the US government, and has been teaching Occupational Medicine
services since 2012. Has lectured in AR, TX, IL, SC, CA, FL,
NJ, and OH. Providing OccMed services for companies, he has
provided 500 drug tests in a single day, and 75 hearing tests
in a single day. He became a Certified Wellness Instructor by
the Foundat ion for Wellness Professionals on July of 2014. He
sta rted the OccMed For DCs training program in 2015 at www.
OccMedForDCs.com

---