photo of Dr. McMainsPost-Job-Offer Physicals: A Service That Saves You Money

Kenneth McMains, MD

As an employer you’re very selective about how and where to spend your company’s healthcare dollars. But don’t overlook one of the most effective ways to control those costs: hire the right worker to start with.

To help you make that decision, your occupational healthcare provider conducts your most cost-effective medical exam—the “post-job-offer” physical. This type of physical is conducted after a job offer is made and before the person’s first day on the job. Adding a drug screen to this physical also provides very useful information.

Companies report numerous benefits from the post-job-offer physical, including:

• assurance that an employee is able to perform the essential functions listed on a job description

• identification of health risk and medical condition(s) that may affect job performance

• information to help place the employee in a job that will not jeopardize their own or coworkers’ safety or health

• employee health information that serves as baseline data for OSHA-required medical surveillance, e.g., within six months of an employee’s first exposure at or above the action level, the employer must establish a valid baseline audiogram (hearing test) against which subsequent audiograms can be compared

As an employer, you must provide an ADA-compliant (Americans with Disabilities Act) job description so that the physician can match the physical demands of the job to the worker’s abilities. The results of a post-offer physical can help an employer identify reasonable accommodations for a worker with a disability.

And not only does the employer reap benefits from these services, but the employee examined by an occupational medicine physician also benefits, learning about medical conditions, pre-existing or otherwise, that may place him or her at increased health risk on the job.

Ken McMains, MD, is an occupational medicine physician and a service provider with Allen Occupational Health Services in Waterloo.

September 2012


UI HealthWorks is a member of the WORKSAFE IOWA Occupational Medicine Associate Network, the only university-affiliated network of occupational health providers.

WORKSAFE IOWA is an outreach program of the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health.


About UI HealthWorks About WORKSAFE IOWA