Difference between a health physical and a pre-employment physical?

The staff made me feel welcome and at ease. They were pleasant and professional in carrying out their duties.
—Mobile Health Patient

Congratulations on the new job! But why do you need a pre-employment physical and why can’t you go see your personal doctor?

Employers who require a pre-employment physical general are either required to by state or federal law or need to ensure that the individual is fit to work. The exam will differ based on what your employer is looking to screen for. This means that is can be a simple height, weight, blood pressure, it could require a tuberculosis test, a blood titer, or even a drug test. Due to these variations, employers generally subscribe to a pre-employment screener who performs these exams regularly and consistently.

Specialty Exams

Sometimes certain exams are required that primary care doctors are not prepared to perform. Most doctors are not setup to do drug tests and not all will have tuberculosis testing supplies. Because of this, your personal doctor might not be able to provide your new employer all the results they need. A professional pre-employment medical screener like Mobile Health specializes in this service and has specially trained staff just for these exams.

Consistent Exams

If your doctor does perform the requested exams, their method might not be the same as other doctors. If your employer is relying on reports from different doctors, then there is no consistency and no standard for testing. This is very important for identifying variable results such as the PPD implant reading. Using a dedicated employee screener provides consistent testing with more accurate results.

Consistent Reporting

Since there is no standard physical exam form used by all doctors and all businesses, it can become an administrative burden to decipher different reporting styles and templates. Mobile Health screened over 250,000 individuals in 2012 with consistent reporting templates. Thankfully, Mobile Health clients did not have to review 250,000 different report formats.