BarnesCare offers a comprehensive continuum of physical exams and the knowledge to keep your company in medical compliance and your employees healthy. Our experts are up-to-date on the latest OSHA standards and DOT and FAA regulations. We also can create a program specific to your industry or business needs.
 

Independent Medical Evaluations
When a question or dispute relating to the status of an employee exists, there are at least two different perspectives. To obtain an impartial, objective evaluation of an employee's health condition, many employers and occupational health nurses request an independent medical evaluation (IME).

Used primarily for management of workers' compensation claims, IMEs can also be used in these scenarios:

• Determine causality in a workers' comp case
• Establish an impairment rating
• Establish the extent of injury or disability
• Evaluate rehabilitation potential
• Obtain a second opinion related to treatment or surgery
• Resolve a difference of opinion between an employee's attending physician and the company physician

An IME should not be confused with other types of physical such as pre-placement or return-to-work. Having an independent health-care professional without a stake in the outcome is essential. The health-care professional renders an opinion and answers questions. The written opinion becomes a legal instrument.
BarnesCare has experienced Certified Independent Medical Examiners on staff.
 

Pulmonary Function Testing
Pulmonary function testing (PFT) is the most basic and most frequently performed test to measure lung function; the ability to move air into and out of the lungs. Using an instrument called a spirometer, the test is performed while the patient breathes in and out as quickly as possible into a measurement device. Specific measurements from the individual's test are then compared to a standardized set of values, thus comparing the individual's lung function against a norm.

PFTs can be used in pre-placement and fit-for-duty examinations, in situations where: a) the physical demands of a job require a certain level of cardiopulmonary fitness; or b) the characteristics of respirator use can impose a significant burden on the cardiopulmonary systems. Though not required routinely under the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard, PFT may be used in the evaluation of respirator users in some situations.

Repeated PFT evaluations can be used in medical surveillance programs when workplace exposures put workers at risk of developing occupationally related respiratory disorders. Surveillance is needed to detect the slowly developing or delayed losses of function that characterize many work-related respiratory disorders. Surveillance programs require that a baseline be established and that workers be retested periodically. Periodic tests may be mandated by OSHA regulations for employees exposed to asbestos, cadmium, coke oven emissions or cotton dust and for respirator-wearers exposed to benzene, formaldehyde or methylene chloride.

Pulmonary Function Testing FAQs
 

Audiometric Testing and Evaluation
All BarnesCare locations are equipped with calibrated audiometers that meet American National Standard Institute (ANSI) specifications. Our medical providers perform baseline and annual audiograms according to OSHA and Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC) standards. They review and document all audiogram results and provide recommendations for further care if a standard threshold shift has occurred. All test results are maintained according to OSHA standards.