[Alcohol, occupational accidents and their sequelae]. / Alkohol, Berufsunfälle und ihre Folgen.

Alcohol is a considerably more important risk factor for non occupational accidents than for occupational accidents, but somatic and psychosocial consequences of chronic alcohol consumption can also have very negative influences on the course of healing and professional rehabilitation. Three cases illustrate the importance of the primary and secondary prevention. They did charge the workers' compensation account of the companies involved with more than one million francs, with corresponding increases in workers' compensation premiums.

[Concept: occupational medicine 2000]. / Konzept: Arbeitsmedizin 2000.

The group of physicians practising occupational medicine in Switzerland is actually still small, and it will need a very important development to reach, on a nation-wide base and not only within a few large companies, a standard of occupational medicine which satisfies from a social security as well as from an economical point of view. The occupational medicine has, therefore, to elucidate to the social partners and to the public the benefit for health and public welfare of its preventive activity at the workplace. The following goals are thus to be pursued: Further development of a legal basis in Switzerland equal to the standard of the neighbouring countries of the European Community Provision of sound models assuring occupational medical care of all business, in particular of the small and middle-sized business Promotion of student's education, specialist formation and continuative schooling in occupational medicine Provision of an adequate university teaching and research capacity with firm links to the practice A more powerful and competent representation of occupational medical aspects in actual discussions of health legislation and social legislation.

[Motivation of the employer for accident prevention and rehabilitation through risk-justified premiums]. / Motivation der Arbeitgeber zur Unfallverhütung und Wiedereingliederung durch risikogerechte Prämien.

The Swiss workers' compensation law prescribes experience rating. Successful efforts of an employer to reduce the risk of accidents through adequate preventive measures on one hand, and on the other hand to keep subsequent costs of still occurring accidents low with quick, consistent and generous measures of rehabilitation, will therefore result in a lower insurance rate. The motivating influence and success of this self-responsibility is pointed out with the figures of a trading company who had been detached from a large risk-community due to bad results. The success with accident prevention and the very favourable ratio achievable of costs for medical treatment (as a measure for the severity of the injuries) to daily payments and costs for permanent disabilities is shown with the example of a construction machinery company. What relations and consecutive costs result from (partly conscious) neglect of rehabilitation is demonstrated with the figures of a construction company.