Lisbon Occupational Medicine – learn about your obligations

2023-04-18

In addition to complying with legislation, occupational medicine is a service that benefits both companies and workers.

This article will answer the following questions:

What is occupational medicine?
What are the advantages?
What is included in the Occupational Health service?
Why choose SEPRI as a partner?
Occupational health – what does the law say?

What is occupational medicine?

Occupational medicine is a medical specialty that aims to promote health and prevent work-related illnesses.
It is also responsible for assessing working conditions and the working environment, identifying risks and proposing preventative measures to protect workers’ health.

Occupational Medicine is also responsible for carrying out tests to assess workers’ ability to perform certain jobs, monitoring cases of occupational diseases and guiding companies and workers towards the best practices to ensure a healthy and safe working environment.

What are the advantages?

Some of its advantages are:

Prevention of accidents and occupational illnesses: which can lead to a reduction in costs for companies and an improvement in the quality of life of workers.
Early identification of work-related illnesses: can help to identify work-related illnesses, such as work-related musculoskeletal injuries, early on, allowing for more effective treatment and increasing the worker’s chances of recovery.
Suitability of the work environment: can identify the risks present in the work environment and suggest preventive and corrective measures to improve working conditions and minimize the risks of accidents and occupational illnesses.
Increased productivity: when workers feel healthy and safe in the workplace, there tends to be an increase in productivity and the quality of the work they do.
Compliance with legislation: companies that offer occupational medicine are in compliance with legal obligations, which can prevent possible legal problems in the future.

What is included in the occupational health service?

The Occupational Medicine service can include various activities and actions aimed at promoting health and preventing occupational diseases.
Below is a list describing some of the items that can often be included in our service proposal, which will always be adapted to each client:

Carrying out Admission Examinations, Periodic Examinations and Occasional Examinations (Article 108 of Law 102/2009) with occupational health specialists for all workers;
Assessment of working conditions, through regular visits to the workplace by the occupational health team.
At the end of the visits, we deliver a report to the client analyzing the working environment and suggesting preventive and corrective measures, if applicable;
Monitoring cases of occupational diseases: monitoring workers’ health, characterizing, referring and monitoring cases of work-related diseases;
Processing clinical information for insurance companies in conjunction with SEPRI – Medicina Sinistrados;
Health literacy: organization of prevention and awareness campaigns on issues related to health and safety at work, through the issue of newsletters, webinars with clinical guests, development of posters and information flyers to raise awareness in the workplace;
Integration of a multidisciplinary team: integrated Occupational Health service with the most diverse specialties – Psychology, Physiotherapy, Exercise Physiology, Nutrition, Occupational Safety, among others;
Participation in and monitoring of audits/inspections carried out by the competent authorities (ACT, DGS, Certifying Entities).

SEPRI’s Occupational Health service is based on compliance with national legislation (Law 102/2009, of September 10, in its current wording) and professional secrecy.

Find out more about our services here.
Ask us for a personalized proposal without obligation: comunicacao@sepri.pt

Why choose SEPRI as a partner?

We come to you: we are prepared to provide health services on the premises of the client company.
Mobile Unit: we have an authorized mobile unit to enhance the agility and speed of providing occupational health services in remote locations.
We are closer to you: we have two occupational health clinics located in Braga and Lisbon, which offer all the conditions for comfort and privacy.

In addition, we help your company with its legal obligations in the field of occupational medicine and we have professionals prepared to carry out appropriate medical surveillance of various risk factors.

SEPRI also guarantees specific complementary diagnostic tests for workers who are exposed to ionizing radiation or chemical products, in accordance with the technical guidelines of the Directorate-General for Health.

Occupational health – what does the law say?

Occupational medicine is regulated by

Law 102/2009, of September 10: establishes the legal regime applicable to the Promotion of Safety and Health at Work, in accordance with Art.
no. 284.
of the Labor Code, approved by Law no.
7/2009, of February 12.
Law no. This article regulates the general principles of health and safety at work, the rights of workers and the duties of companies in the event of accidents at work and occupational illnesses, and also provides guidance on the duties of companies in the case of informing, consulting and training workers.

Portuguese legislation on occupational medicine therefore makes it compulsory for companies to ensure the health and safety of workers by collaborating with occupational medicine services to carry out examinations, identify risks, define preventive measures and monitor cases of occupational diseases.

It is compulsory, applies to all branches of activity in the public, private or corporate and social sectors and is of equal importance to workers and companies.

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