Establishment and operation of a cooperative program to identify work-related acute myeloid leukemia in a general hospital

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this report is to introduce the occupational cancer surveillance system, implemented in June 2018, and to share the results of our cooperative program. METHODS: The cooperative program begins when the patient is diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Newly diagnosed AML patients are admitted to the internal medicine hematology department, then attending hematology physician requests a consultation from the occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) department. The OEM doctor next visits the hospitalized patient and interviews them to take their occupational history, and preliminarily evaluates the likelihood that the condition is associated with occupation. If the patient wants to apply for compensation through the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service, the patient was informed to visits the outpatient clinic of the OEM department and requests a ‘work-relatedness evaluation report’ for use in applying for compensation. RESULTS: Among the 103 patients, who received an OEM departmental work history evaluation, 18 patients were considered to have a work-related incidence and 12 patients were registered in the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance system. CONCLUSIONS: The present report provides data on a sustainable model for identifying occupational disease in a general hospital setting, while also informing patients about their occupational rights.