Medical Clearance Before Using a Respirator. What Medical Professionals Need to Know Any personnel requiring the use of a respirator based on the information on the pesticide product label should undergo a medical examination by a physician or licensed medical professional prior to using the respirator. Such an assessment should take into account the health of the employee, their specific job responsibilities, the type of respirator, and the condition of the workplace.
Why Is a Medical Clearance Needed Before Employees Use a Respirator at Work?
Breathing through a respirator is more difficult than the surrounding air. The additional physiological load can be significant for people with certain medical conditions. As an expert, your goal is to identify any health conditions that could endanger an employee wearing a respirator and determine if the medical professional can wear a respirator.
What Should the Healthcare Provider Evaluate?
Having information from both the employee and the employer allows the examiner to determine the Respirator Clearance Physicians under certain conditions. The assessment can be done by reviewing the employee's responses to the medical questionnaire or by personally verifying by collecting the same information. Review the survey in its entirety in English and Spanish. The information from the medical evaluation is confidential. You can only see this as an employee and you as an inspector.
How Do the Employer-provided Answers Come Into Play?
The employer must provide information on how to use the respirator at work. For example, type and weight of respirators and filters, duration and frequency of respirator use, personal protective equipment used during use, workplace exposure, power level expected during operation and operating conditions. The employer must also provide you with an OSHA respiratory protection standard.
What are the Potential Outcomes of the Medical Evaluation?
Additional testing and/or subsequent evaluations may be required to determine final clearance. The need for a reevaluation or the time between evaluations depends on a number of factors, such as whether the employee reports shortness of breath or airway-related dizziness or a change in working conditions.
Limitations
You can, for example, impose restrictions on the clearance of a medical respirator in cases where you need to monitor the health status of a respiratory worker. Medical clearance may be denied if the employee has a medical condition that prohibits the safe use of a respirator under the conditions described.
Verdict
Medical clearance may be granted for a longer period but must be repeated if there are changes in the employee's health, facial structure, respiratory system, or the worker's work or workplace conditions.