Health assessments done at the University of Florida protect the safety and health of the individual and of employees, students and the general public with whom the individual may come in contact in the course of their duties. The assessments also establish a baseline record. Health assessments are linked to the position duties in certain known risk situations that are governed by federal, state or local standards.
The University of Florida requires that employment in certain positions be subject to the successful completion of a health assessment - a job offer is contingent upon the favorable results of the post-offer preplacement health assessment. The applicant may not begin work until after being cleared to work by the Student Health Care Center (SHCC) at UF in Gainesville.
UF provides preplacement health assessments for applicants who have accepted an offer of employment for a position whose duties are in the identified risk areas and for current employees whose duties have changed into the identified risk areas. In addition, UF provides periodic medical monitoring after the preplacement health assessment for selected job duties that require medical evaluations at varying periods of time.
The Health Assessment Management System (HAMS) is available to all on-campus departments as well as all Research and Education Centers via the PeopleSoft position information for individuals on positions. For individuals not on positions, the HAMS is available through a separate electronic form outside PeopleSoft (INOP form).
The HAMS assists departments in determining whether a health assessment is required for a specific position. It also serves as a communication tool between the department and the SHCC. The department must add a HAMS record before the individual goes for his or her health assessment. If you have questions about the HAMS, please contact the Occupational Medicine Coordinator at Environmental Health and Safety, (352) 392-1591.
On-campus departments should use the SHCC for their health assessments. The off-campus centers and offices outside the Gainesville area should use local physicians for their health assessments. Normally, the physician used for workers’ compensation cases or periodic medical monitoring is an appropriate choice.
The SHCC receives job duty information from the department directly through HAMS for on-campus assessments. For off-campus centers, the center/department should refer to the SHCC's UF Employee Preplacement Health Assessments: Policies and Procedures document. It identifies the specific procedures included in the health assessment based on the job duties of the position. It also outlines the method to transfer the confidential medical record to the SHCC in Gainesville for review and maintenance.
Preplacement health assessment charges for departments filling non-academic vacancies are covered by Finance and Administration. Individual departments or colleges cover the charges for all other preplacement health assessments as well as periodic health assessments.
For assessments done off-campus, preplacement health assessment charges must be paid through Center or department accounts. However, when filling non-academic vacancies, the department/center may be reimbursed for those fees up to the amount charged by the University’s SHCC.