Occupational and Environmental Clinic at Harborview

The University of Washington Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinic at Harborview offers comprehensive services for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of occupational and work-related environmental exposure, illness and injury by Board Certified Occupational Medicine physicians. Each patient receives a detailed exposure assessment and comprehensive clinical testing, as needed. This often involves multi-specialty evaluations, guided by the most up-to-date scientific research.

Common conditions we evaluate, when they are known or suspected to be related to exposure in the workplace or as occur in the course of work, include breathing problems such as asthma, asbestosis and allergic hypersensitivity; neurological problems such as parkinsonism, peripheral neuropathy and hearing loss; skin problems such as eczema and allergic dermatitis; musculoskeletal problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome, back, neck, shoulder and other injuries, sprains, strains and tendonitis; and exposures to toxic chemicals such as metals, solvents and pesticides.

We also offer medical screening and monitoring programs for high-risk occupations. We provide routine respirator clearance and regulatory compliance examinations for asbestos, hazardous waste, emergency response and other trade-specific situations. We work with employers and workers and others to help prevent work-related illnesses and injuries and to help injured workers quickly and safely return to work and function. We provide educational services about workplace hazards and safety and offer worksite visits as permitted.

Other services include impairment ratings, review of independent medical exams, assessment of barriers to return to work and assistance with filing or re-opening a workers’ compensation claim and coordination of return to work efforts. We also offer health and safety consultation to employers and unions.

Our clinic also directs the Harborview Center of Occupational Health Education, a program that seeks to minimize work related disability by offering education and training in best occupational health practices to physicians who treat workers with work related injuries. We also act as a resource to health and governmental agencies.

The full services of UW Medicine are available for primary care, specialty consultation or emergency and hospital-based services. For related programs, see the Orthopedics and Spine Clinics, Rehabilitation Medicine, and other Medical Specialties Clinics.

For children’s health issues, the Northwest Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit is a joint program of the Pediatrics Department and the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health where families and their care providers can obtain educational information about children’s environmental health issues. The pediatric environmental health experts see children from infancy through adolescence, providing expert clinical evaluations for exposure to harmful environmental toxicants. For assistance contact 1-877-KID-CHEM.