The Role of the Medical Profession in Occupational Lung Disease and Access to Compensation.

The relationship between exposure to toxins at work and lung diseases continues to be significantly under-recognised in Australia. Medical practitioners are well placed to identify occupational risk factors for disease. They can therefore play a vital role in informing regulatory responses, highlighting dangerous workplaces and supporting access to compensation to assist with better health outcomes for their patients. Increased awareness among medical practitioners of occupational factors can aid early diagnosis and improve patient outcomes by improving access to justice. Medical practitioners should be cognisant of the occupational causes of lung disease in Australia to support appropriate specialist referral and ensure patients can access additional support systems available through legal compensation systems. More broadly, medical professionals and lawyers assisting workers share the common aim of highlighting preventable diseases and advocating for change to help make workplaces safer.