[Occupational medical counseling in rehabilitation]

The present contribution seeks to outline the counselling possibilities on the part of the industrial medical service. Starting out from the legal bases (the Act concerning safety at work), the scope for action available internally and externally is examined. Towards the background of the assertion (which is in agreement with numerous other authors) that rehabilitation invariably means teamwork, the author seeks to describe the internally competent authorities and departments in terms of internal team, and to contrast it with the external team involved. A number of opportunities for cooperation are outlined, and already implemented practical approaches are pointed out. The company services are viewed in a community based rehabilitation context, and the relationships with the financially responsible administrations and their facilities in respect of vocational and medical rehabilitation are set out. Systematic in-plant procedures are explained by a conceptual model, practical implementations (for ex. in the EAM system) are touched on.