Skin cancer induced by natural UV-radiation as an occupational disease­requirements for its notification and recognition.

In Germany over 2.5 million employees have an increased risk of skin cancer due to their occupational exposure to natural UV-irradiation. The medical consultation board "Occupational diseases" of the Ministry of Labor and Social affairs has investigated the association between occupational UV-irradiation and skin cancer risk and recommends to add the following new occupational disease into the appendix1 of the German ordinance on occupational diseases: "Squamous cell carcinoma and multiple actinic keratosis due to natural UV-irradiation". In this article we report in the view of the German Society of Occupational and Environmental Dermatology (ABD) and the German Statutory accident insurance (DGUV), whose criteria have to be fulfilled for the notification and recognition of an occupational skin cancer due to natural UV-irradiation.

Cooperation between the occupational health insurance and physicians practicing occupational dermatology: optimization potential in quality assurance.

BACKGROUND: Quality assurance is a task of the medical profession, but it is also a duty of the occupational health insurance (OHI). Data on the interaction quality between physicians practicing occupational dermatology and the OHI are limited. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An online survey was performed in 854 German members of the Working Group on Occupational and Environmental Dermatology in October 2013. Items included demographic data, a judgment on the cooperation between the dermatologists and OHI companies, an economic grading of the current compensation scheme, and prioritization of optimization tasks. RESULTS: 182 members (21.3 % of the invited population) participated in the survey. The cooperation with the OHI companies was judged as "very good" by 10.8 %, as "good" by 56.7  %, as "satisfactory" by 24.2 %, as "sufficient" by 7.0 % and as "inadequate" by 1.3 %. 93.4 % of the interviewed mentioned problems and improvement potentials in the cooperation of their practice or clinic with OHI companies. Main points of criticisms were reimbursement (44.7 %), followed by impairments of the treatment options (36.5 %) and the delay or scope of the treatment in the dermatologist's procedure (29.4 %). CONCLUSIONS: While most physicians practicing occupational dermatology give a positive judgment of their cooperation with OHI companies, quality optimization potentials exist regarding the reimbursement of dermatological services, especially regarding time-intensive counselling in the prevention of occupational skin diseases, in the enablement of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures according to current guidelines and in a timely preventive intervention to use the therapeutic window before chronification of skin diseases may occur.