As occupational health grows in importance in the workplace, industry conferences are invaluable for sharing knowledge that helps practitioners and advances the field. Hosted by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), the American Occupational Health Conference (AOHC) is the largest forum for occupational health professionals to network and learn from each other. Ahead of this year’s conference, which takes place from April 27-30, 2025, we spoke with AOHC presenters about some of the most pressing issues facing occupational health.
New and emerging technologies like AI and automation are enhancing patient care and boosting providers’ efficiency, but they are also poised to address challenges unique to occupational health. At AOHC 2025, Atrium Health and Enterprise Health will debut a modern, technology-enabled onboarding process. Later, Krieg DeVault LLP will provide a legal perspective on navigating recordkeeping regulations and share a framework for record classification.
Read on for more details and previews of these two sessions.
Streamlining Onboarding to Reduce Time to Hire
Onboarding new employees can be an onerous and time-consuming process, especially when a medical evaluation is required. In-person assessments for every employee, including those living in different countries, can sometimes delay a new hire’s start date by weeks or months. That’s why Atrium Health turned to technology to develop a new post-offer evaluation process.
By using an occupational electronic health record (OEHR) to gather candidate health information, post-offer evaluations can be completed with fewer in-person appointments, helping employees start work more quickly and with fewer unnecessary tests. The process benefits occupational health providers, too. At Atrium Health, digitizing and automating the evaluations helps clinic staff visualize, track, and optimize their workload to provide better care. “Onboarding new employees can be a significant pain point for any organization,” shared Enterprise Health’s Sarah Gehring, about her upcoming presentation with Tara McGee-Walker from Atrium Health. “Managing pre-hire health and vision testing, immunizations, and many other types of testing create obstacles to starting work, but with a purpose-built OEHR we’ve been able to reduce appointment times from 45 to 60 minutes to just 15 minutes. Not only has this made the on-boarding process easier for newly hired employees but has also freed up clinic staff to attend to other issues.”
Atrium ’s presentation, ‘5-Star Onboarding: Discover How the Sausage is Made,’ led by Sarah Gehring, CCMA, Enterprise Health Faculty and Tara McGee-Walker, MSN, RN-BC, Atrium Health, will be held on Sunday, April 27, 2025, from 1:30pm to 2:30pm in Lone Star Salon C.
Navigating the Complexities of Occupational Health Recordkeeping
Occupational health sits at the intersection of healthcare and labor laws, creating a complex regulatory landscape for providers to navigate. Policies from federal, state, and international organizations can significantly impact recordkeeping practices, which must also account for industry regulations and additional requirements for areas like reproductive healthcare and substance use disorders.
These myriad factors mean that each employer and occupational health practice must take a unique approach to its privacy and security obligations regarding patient health information. At this year’s AOHC, Stephanie Eckerle, J.D., Partner at Krieg DeVault LLP, will present a framework for classifying records and identifying risk areas while complying with various regulations. “It’s important for employers and occupational health providers to create a policy that identifies all the applicable laws and build that understanding upfront,” Eckerle told Future Healthcare Today.
Learn more about recordkeeping best practices and compliance from Eckerle in her session ‘A Tangled Web: Navigating the Complexities of Recordkeeping, Privacy, and Security for Occupational Health Providers,’ on Monday, April 28, 3:30pm to 4:30pm in Lone Star Salon H.
Promoting Workplace Safety, Health, and Sustainability
The streamlined processes and robust documentation policies Atrium Health and Eckerle will share form the foundation for strong occupational health offerings and results. Supporting providers and clinic staff with technology enables them to give patients their undivided attention, improving treatment outcomes that help employees start or return to work more quickly. Maintaining compliance and workplace safety also becomes easier, helping to prevent injury or illness and promote employee health and wellbeing.
With other sessions exploring clinical skills, hiring and training, and environmental medicine, among other topics, AOHC attendees will gain a greater understanding of the future of workplace health and the role technology will play.
Visit Enterprise Health at AOHC at Booth 401. To register and view the full schedule, click here.