Safety and Health at Work

Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (산업안전보건연구원)
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Achievements, Problems, and Future Direction of the Quality Control Program for Special Periodic Health Examination Agencies in Republic of Korea

  • Won, Yong Lim (Occupational Health Research Department, Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency) ;
  • Ko, Kyung Sun (Occupational Health Research Department, Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency) ;
  • Park, Jae Oh (Occupational Health Research Department, Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency) ;
  • Choi, Yoon jung (Occupational Health Research Department, Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency) ;
  • Lee, Hyeji (Occupational Health Research Department, Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency) ;
  • Sung, Jung-min (Occupational Health Research Department, Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency) ;
  • Lee, Mi-young (Occupational Health Research Department, Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency)
  • Received : 2017.12.12
  • Accepted : 2018.11.27
  • Published : 2019.03.30
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Abstract

The ultimate goal of the quality control program for special periodic health examination agencies is to diagnose the health condition of a worker correctly, based on accurate examination and analysis skills, leading to protect the worker's health. The quality control program on three areas, chemical analysis for biological monitoring since 1995, and pneumoconiosis, audiometric testing since 1996, has contributed to improve the reliability of occupational health screenings by improving the issues including standardization of testing methods, tools, diagnostic opinions, and reliability of analysis for biological monitoring. It has contributed to improving the reliability of occupational health monitoring by rectifying the following issues associated with previous monitoring: absence of standardized testing methods, testing tools that are not upgraded, mismatching diagnostic opinions, and unreliable results of biological specimen analysis. Nevertheless, there are issues in need of further improvement such as lack of expertise or the use of inappropriate method for health examination, and passive and unwilling participation in the quality control. We suggested solutions to these problems for each area of quality control program. Above all, it is essential to provide active support for health examiners to develop their expertise, while encouraging all the health screening agencies, employers, and workers to develop the desire to improve the system and to maintain the relevance.

Keywords

References

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