Employer Guide

In-House Occupational Health vs. Third-Party Clinics — Why Where Your Employees Go Matters

The main difference between in-house occupational health and a third-party clinic is relationship and context. Both can perform a DOT physical or collect a drug screen. But when occupational health is handled by a primary care practice that also knows your employees as patients, the care is connected — to their health history, to your workplace, and to a provider who is accountable to your community. Burds Family Practice offers a full occupational health menu for employers in eastern Iowa — with the continuity of a primary care relationship built in.

Side by Side

How the Two Models Compare

✦ Burds Family Practice
In-House Occupational Health
Who handles it Your employees' primary care provider — someone who knows their health history, their medications, and their baseline.
Relationship with the employer Direct. One point of contact. A provider who understands your workplace, your industry, and your workforce over time.
Continuity of care Occupational health findings connect to the employee's broader medical record. A work injury doesn't exist in isolation from the rest of their health.
Community accountability Your provider is your neighbor. They are invested in the health and productivity of this community's workforce — not processing volume for a national chain.
Communication Direct access to the provider — not a call center. Questions get answered by the person who performed the exam.
Return-to-work coordination Easier and faster when the occupational health provider and the primary care provider are the same practice. No referral loops, no lost records.
VS
Third-Party Clinic
Standalone Occupational Health
Who handles it A provider at a standalone clinic or urgent care chain with no prior knowledge of the employee's health history or baseline.
Relationship with the employer Transactional. Each visit starts fresh. No ongoing relationship with your company or understanding of your specific workplace.
Continuity of care Occupational health records stay in a separate system. If the employee has a related medical history, the examining provider may never know.
Community accountability Often a regional or national chain. Staff turnover is high. The provider who examined your employee last year may not be there this year.
Communication Typically through a central scheduling or results line. Getting answers can mean navigating hold queues and unfamiliar staff.
Return-to-work coordination Requires coordination between separate systems. Records must be transferred, timelines can slip, and employees fall through the gaps.
Our Occupational Health Menu

What Burds Offers Eastern Iowa Employers

A full occupational health menu — available to employers throughout Peosta, Dyersville, and the greater Dubuque area. No need to send your employees to a standalone clinic across town.

DOT Physicals
Required for commercial motor vehicle drivers. Performed by a certified medical examiner.
Pre-Employment Physicals
Baseline health assessments before an employee starts work — tailored to job requirements.
Drug Testing / Urine Screens
Pre-employment, random, post-accident, and reasonable suspicion drug screening.
Breath Alcohol Testing
DOT and non-DOT breath alcohol testing for employers with drug and alcohol policies.
Workers' Compensation Injury Care
Prompt evaluation and treatment of work-related injuries — with documentation for claims.
OSHA Compliance Exams
Medical surveillance and compliance exams required by OSHA standards for specific industries.
Return-to-Work Evaluations
Fitness-for-duty assessments to safely clear employees to return after injury or illness.
Immunizations & Flu Clinics
Workplace flu clinics and occupationally relevant immunizations for your workforce.

One practice. Your entire workforce.

Burds Family Practice serves employers across eastern Iowa — from single-owner businesses to multi-employee operations. We set up employer accounts, communicate directly with HR and safety managers, and provide the documentation your team needs without the runaround of a high-volume chain clinic. Call us to discuss setting up an employer relationship.

Why Continuity Matters

The Problem with Treating Occupational Health in Isolation

When an employee gets a DOT physical at a standalone clinic and sees their primary care provider somewhere else entirely, those two providers are operating with incomplete pictures of the same person's health. That gap has real consequences.

Third-Party Approach

The provider doing the exam doesn't know the employee

A DOT physical performed without knowledge of the employee's medical history, current medications, or chronic conditions relies entirely on what the employee self-reports in that moment. Conditions that should be flagged may not be — and conditions that are flagged may lack the context to be properly evaluated.

Burds Family Practice

Occupational health and primary care in the same record

When your employee is also a Burds patient, their occupational health visits connect to a complete clinical picture. A DOT physical performed by a provider who already knows the employee's blood pressure history, sleep patterns, and medication list is a meaningfully more thorough exam — for the employer and the employee.

In Practice

What a Workers' Comp Injury Looks Like at Each

Here's how the same workplace injury plays out depending on where the employee goes for care.

Third-Party Clinic
1
Employee is injured. Employer directs them to the nearest standalone occupational health clinic or urgent care chain.
2
Employee is seen by a provider who has never met them. Health history is collected from scratch.
3
Treatment and documentation are completed. Records stay in the clinic's separate system.
4
Return-to-work requires coordination between the occupational clinic, the employee's primary care provider, and the employer — often across multiple calls and records requests.
5
Next time the employee needs occupational health, the process starts from scratch again — possibly with a different provider.
Burds Family Practice
1
Employee is injured. Employer calls Burds — the same practice that already handles their occupational health account.
2
Employee is seen same-day or next-day by a provider who already knows their health history, baseline vitals, and medications.
3
Treatment and documentation are completed in the same record as the employee's primary care history.
4
Return-to-work evaluation is handled by the same practice — no records transfer, no coordination gap, no delay.
5
Employer has a direct line to the provider. Questions are answered by the person who performed the exam.
Full Breakdown

Complete Comparison

Factor Burds Family Practice ✦ Third-Party Clinic
DOT physicals ✓ Certified medical examiner on staff ✓ Available at most
Pre-employment physicals ✓ ✓
Drug testing / urine screens ✓ Pre-employment, random, post-accident ✓
Breath alcohol testing ✓ ✓ At most locations
Workers' comp injury care ✓ Same-day access ~ Walk-in, wait times vary
OSHA compliance exams ✓ ~ Varies by location
Return-to-work evaluations ✓ ✓
Flu clinics / immunizations ✓ ~ Varies
Connected to employee's primary care record ✓ When employee is a Burds patient ✗ Separate system entirely
Ongoing employer relationship ✓ Direct contact, employer account ✗ Transactional — starts fresh each visit
Direct provider communication ✓ Call the practice directly ✗ Call center or general line
Provider continuity ✓ Same providers over time ✗ High staff turnover at many chains
Community-rooted ✓ Locally owned — Peosta, Iowa ✗ Often regional or national chain
Serving eastern Iowa employers ✓ Peosta, Dyersville, Dubuque area ~ May require driving to larger city
Who We Serve

Employers Who Work Well with Burds

We partner with employers of all sizes across eastern Iowa. Here are some of the businesses and industries we work with most.

Transportation & Logistics

CDL drivers and fleet operators

DOT physicals, drug and alcohol testing, and return-to-work evaluations for commercial drivers throughout eastern Iowa.

Manufacturing & Industrial

Factories, plants, and production facilities

Pre-employment physicals, OSHA compliance exams, workers' comp injury care, and workplace flu clinics.

Construction & Trades

Contractors and skilled trades employers

Pre-employment physicals, drug screening, injury care, and fitness-for-duty evaluations for physically demanding roles.

Small & Mid-Size Businesses

Any employer who needs a healthcare partner

You don't need a large workforce to benefit from an occupational health relationship. We work with businesses of any size in the Peosta, Dyersville, and Dubuque area.

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between in-house occupational health and a third-party occupational health clinic?
In-house occupational health means your employees receive work-related health services at a primary care practice that also knows them as patients. A third-party occupational health clinic handles those same services in a standalone setting with no connection to the employee's broader health history. The key difference is continuity — when occupational health and primary care are under one roof, the provider has full context, and the employer has a single point of contact for their workforce health needs.
What occupational health services does Burds Family Practice offer?
Burds Family Practice in Peosta, Iowa offers DOT physicals, pre-employment physicals, drug testing and urine screens, breath alcohol testing, workers' compensation injury care, OSHA compliance exams, return-to-work evaluations, and immunizations including flu clinics. Services are available to employers throughout the Peosta, Dyersville, and greater Dubuque area of eastern Iowa.
Does Burds Family Practice do DOT physicals?
Yes. Burds Family Practice in Peosta, Iowa performs DOT physicals for commercial motor vehicle drivers. DOT exams are required by federal law for drivers of commercial vehicles and must be performed by a certified medical examiner. Burds serves employers and drivers throughout eastern Iowa including the Dubuque, Peosta, and Dyersville areas.
Does Burds Family Practice offer employer drug testing?
Yes. Burds Family Practice offers pre-employment drug testing, urine screens, and breath alcohol testing for employers. These services are available to businesses in the Peosta, Dyersville, and greater Dubuque area of eastern Iowa.
Why should employers use a primary care practice for occupational health instead of a standalone clinic?
When occupational health is handled by a primary care practice, employers benefit from a provider who knows the workforce, communicates directly with the employer, and can identify health trends that affect productivity and safety. Employees benefit because their work-related care is connected to their overall health history. Third-party clinics handle the transactional services competently, but they have no ongoing relationship with the employee or the employer — every visit starts from zero.

Set up an employer account
with Burds Family Practice.

One call to get started. We'll walk through your occupational health needs and set up a direct relationship for your team.

Contact Us Call Us: (563) 588-6659