Onsite Health Diagnostics

We hope you are enjoying these lessons learned. If you aren’t confident that you or your partner have processes in place to safeguard against issues like these, you might find our recommendations with each story helpful.

1. You Did an Onsite Screening, Where!?

A large employer in the Mid-West came to us with a story concerning a screening event that was not well received by the participants. This would probably be due to the fact that the screenings took place in an outdoor warehouse next to a very large trash compactor. You wonder how and why this would happen and the answer is pretty simple. The site coordinator was adamant that they had NO SPACE available indoors, so the screening group appeased the site coordinator and offered to do it outside. The screening staff did not set up the day before, and when they arrived 30 minutes before the event, they quickly realized it was in the direct sunlight and also next to a garbage compactor. Not exactly a great first step into wellness.

This all could have been prevented if the screening company had set up the day before, adhered to outside screening regulations, and thought of the participant first. OHD adheres to a rigorous implementation plan to make these kinds of situations non-factors.

2. An Auto Mechanic’s First Try at Phlebotomy

A group based in California asked to schedule a screening event for about 300 individuals at their corporate office location. The test menu required the screening event to be performed via venipuncture. The staff showed up the day of the event and ended up only having 4 staff members to screen 300 participants in a four-hour window. The selected manager of the screening event inquired about the venipuncture experience of the staff, and a gentleman acknowledged that he had none but was a very good mechanic and was confident he could “collect blood from any person or any car”. The selected manager then asked if he had ever taken blood from a person and the gentleman indicated, again, that he was a mechanic and needed some money to pay rent.

A very scary situation!! OHD recruits and sources our own staff. We do not use staffing agencies and enjoy a 70% annual retention rate for all of our independent contracting staff members—many of whom become Team Leaders for OHD. Each state has its own unique requirements in regards to biometric screening and related staffing credentials, so make sure you do your homework on the groups you are working with before you sign the contract.

3. Sir, You May Not Get Naked in the Body Comp Station

Sometimes the expected happens. At one screening event, we were told that a gentleman stepped into the body comp station, and while the medical technician was setting up the height and weight instruments, the gentleman had begun removing all his clothes. By the time the medical technician had turned around, he was nearly nude. The medical technician did not know what to do, and her knee-jerk reaction was to laugh out loud, rush out of the privacy area, and tell her other colleagues. The gentleman was very embarrassed, dressed, and left the event. The company’s main contact called the screening company and wanted to let them know that individual was their CEO, and they would not be using them again.

Professionalism…Professionalism…Professionalism. Staff members who do not instruct individuals properly beg for these types of situation to occur. In addition, maintaining a professional demeanor is vital to a successful event. OHD has Team Leaders at all events who are responsible for performing competency checks on all individuals in charge of a station. Team Leaders look to ensure proper instructions are provided, that each technician can perform at all stations, and reviews the “what ifs” with each staff member in order to ensure a professionalism at all times.

4. It’s 100 degrees and the Medical Staff Stores Cassettes in Their Backyard

A Team Leader that used to work for another screening company came to us with a terrifying story. She was on her way to an event and did not have enough supplies. She called the screening company’s home office, and she was told that another technician in the area had supplies that could be picked up at her home. The team leader knocked on the door, and the tech brought her to the backyard—where she saw over 100 finger stick cassettes staked up in a storage shed. It was over a 100 degrees outside! The medical technician claimed she always stored them either outside or in the garage. The team leader quickly left, did not use those supplies, and promptly left the company.

Medical testing devices, supplies and cassettes must be stored in a temperature controlled environment, devices must be tested at least annually and calibrated before each event. Medical cassettes typically expire after 1 year of being shipped from the manufacturer and will immediately become non-functional once the cassette has reached a temperature below 48 or above 98 degrees. OHD stores all our devices, supplies and performs all shipping and tracking from our logistics location. OHD also has performance guarantees surrounding supplies and logistics.

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