The role of the occupational physician in genetic analyses

Reviewed by Dr. Daniel Wallerstorfer, molecular biologist and founder of Novogenia · Updated: 15 October 2026 · Reading time: 9 min

In short

A program does not need a company physician for lifestyle analyses: in Germany and Austria the law reserves no role for a physician here, and in Switzerland an authorized health professional prescribes the analysis. Medical prevention analyses, by contrast, are available at Novogenia only through a physician with the qualifications national law requires – as a voluntary medical service kept separate from occupational medical care, where genetic examinations are prohibited in Germany (Section 20 GenDG). Apart from the person tested, only the medical side sees the result – never the employer, not even with consent.

Bound only by medical conscience

Germany’s Occupational Safety Act contains a sentence that is worth its weight in gold for every health program: company physicians are not subject to instructions when applying their expertise, are “subject only to their medical conscience” and must observe medical confidentiality (Section 8(1) ASiG). They work inside the company – but not for the personnel file.

Even in regular occupational medical care, the employer only learns that an appointment took place, when and for what reason – not what came out of it (Section 6(3) ArbMedVV). With genetic results, the law goes even further. Picture a door leading to the employer: normally, the patient can unlock it by giving her consent. With genetic results, that door has no keyhole – the employer may not receive them even if the employee agrees (Section 19 GenDG).

So the role the company physician plays in a program with genetic analyses depends mainly on one question: is it a lifestyle analysis or a medical analysis?

Two routes, two roles

	Lifestyle analysis	Medical prevention analysis
Topics	Nutrition and weight, sports and performance, stress, skin	Medical questions, such as predispositions to disease
Who prescribes?	Germany and Austria: no physician requirement; Switzerland: an authorized health professional (Art. 34 GUMG)	A physician with the qualifications national law requires (Section 7 GenDG, Section 68 GTG)
Counseling	Clear information on what the analysis can and cannot tell	Genetic counseling where the law requires it (Section 10 GenDG, Section 69 GTG)
Who sees the result?	Only the employee	The person tested and the medical side
Role of the company physician	Adviser on concept and information, no access to reports	Takes responsibility for the service if they hold the required qualification
What does the employer receive?	The invoice – no results	The invoice – no results

A lifestyle analysis is not a diagnosis and does not replace a medical examination. It shows predispositions that help employees plan their everyday lives better. A medical analysis, by contrast, answers questions about predispositions to disease – and therefore belongs in a physician’s hands.

Germany: genetics has no place in occupational medical care

The most important boundary is drawn by Section 20(1) GenDG: within occupational medical examinations, no genetic examinations or analyses may be carried out, and no results of earlier examinations may be requested, received or used. The exceptions in paragraphs 2 and 3 concern narrowly defined hazards at specific workplaces – they are not meant for a voluntary health program.

The Ordinance on Occupational Medical Care fits this picture. Occupational medical care is a medical consultation, with examinations only insofar as they are needed for information and advice and the employee does not refuse them; it does not include proof of fitness for a job (Section 2(1) ArbMedVV). A medical genetic analysis is therefore conceivable only as a separate, voluntary medical service – with its own appointment, its own consent and its own documentation. Then the general rules of the GenDG apply:

Qualification: predictive examinations may only be carried out by specialists in human genetics or by physicians who qualified for genetic examinations within their field when obtaining a specialist, sub-specialty or additional title (Section 7(1) GenDG).
Counseling: genetic counseling takes place before and after a predictive examination – unless the person waives it in writing after written information (Section 10(2)). Only qualified physicians may provide it (Section 7(3)).
Consent: explicit and in writing, given to the responsible physician; it also covers whether the result is to be disclosed or destroyed (Section 8(1)).
Result: the lab reports it only to the commissioning physician, who reports it only to the person tested (Section 11(1) and (2)). The physician may share it with others only with explicit written or electronic consent (Section 11(3)) – and not with the employer even then, because the employer may not receive it.

Austria: occupational medicine advises, specialists prescribe

In Austria, employers must appoint occupational physicians – their own, external ones or an occupational health center (Section 79 of the Employee Protection Act, ASchG). They advise employers, employees and works bodies on matters including health promotion related to working conditions, and the employer must involve them in all questions of maintaining and promoting health at the workplace (Section 81(1) and (3) ASchG). A health program is therefore a natural topic for occupational medicine. Everything they learn is covered by medical confidentiality (Section 54(1) of the Physicians Act, ÄrzteG).

Stricter rules apply to medical analyses of predispositions to disease (types 3 and 4): they may only be carried out in approved facilities and only at the request of a specialist in human/medical genetics or in the relevant field of indication (Section 68(1) GTG). Beforehand, the person confirms in writing that such a specialist has informed them and that they agree freely (Section 69(1) GTG). Outside the performing facility, the data go only to the person tested or their legal representative, the requesting physician and the treating physician – to others only with explicit written consent (Section 71(2) GTG).

One point deserves attention: the ban in Section 67 GTG also applies to the employer’s agents and staff, and occupational physicians are appointed by the employer. Whether they may receive the results of employees’ genetic analyses as part of a voluntary medical service is not expressly answered by the text of the law. So have any such concept reviewed legally in advance.

Switzerland: very little room for medical genetic tests in employment

The GUMG expressly regulates the physician’s role in employment. If a genetic test is prescribed in connection with employment, it may only clarify traits relevant to the workplace; the employer only learns whether the person can be considered for the job (Art. 38). A physician engaged by the employer may not require tests for predispositions to disease, nor ask for or use data from earlier tests of this kind (Art. 39) – with a narrow exception to prevent occupational diseases and accidents (Art. 40).

This leaves very little room in Switzerland for medical prevention analyses through a company physician. For lifestyle analyses, physicians are among the authorized professionals (Art. 34 GUMG, Art. 40 GUMV). We nevertheless recommend that an independent professional prescribe the analysis, not a physician engaged by the employer – so it clearly remains a private decision. The saliva sample is then taken in the presence of the prescribing professional (Art. 34(3) GUMG).

No physician required – what the company physician can still add to a lifestyle program

The fact that a lifestyle analysis needs no physician does not mean the company physician stays on the sidelines. They advise the employer on health protection (Section 3(1) ASiG), and in Germany, health insurers involve company physicians when they assess the health situation in a company for workplace health promotion (Section 20b(1) SGB V). Useful tasks:

Review the concept: does the program fit the company’s health goals? Is the separation between lifestyle and medicine clean?
Help shape the information: at the information session, the physician explains what a lifestyle analysis shows and what it does not – which builds trust. Especially with topics such as stress and recovery, a physician’s perspective helps make sure no one mistakes a report for a diagnosis.
Point the way to a physician: anyone with medical questions after reading their report belongs in a physician’s hands. Whom someone talks to about their own report is their own decision.

What is not part of the role: collecting reports, evaluating results for the company or offering analyses during occupational health appointments.

Checklist for working together

Lifestyle and medical analyses are separate, each with its own information and its own consent.
Medical analyses never run as part of occupational medical care.
The responsible physician holds the qualifications national law requires; genetic counseling is arranged.
Appointments for medical analyses are not booked through HR.
No result reaches the employer – not even with consent.
In Austria, it has been checked whether the appointed occupational physician may receive results personally.
In Switzerland, an independent, authorized professional prescribes the lifestyle analysis.
The company physician is involved early as an adviser, without access to reports.

The employment-law limits in detail are covered in Law: what employers may and may not do, data protection in Data protection and confidentiality of results.

How we do it at Novogenia

How medical analyses work at Novogenia:

Only with a company physician: medical prevention analyses are possible in a company only if it has an appropriate company physician. Apart from the person tested, only the medical side sees the result – never the employer.
Prescribed by a physician: medical genetic analyses are carried out only at the request of a physician, after information, after genetic counseling where required by law, and after written consent. That is why our Health analysis is available only through physicians.
Medical interpretation: medical analyses are interpreted by physicians; lifestyle analyses are interpreted by Novogenia GmbH itself.
The right kits: for medical use we use saliva kits that are medical devices; for lifestyle analyses, kits that are not.
A licensed lab: the analysis runs in our own lab in Eugendorf near Salzburg, which holds an Austrian license for medical genetic analyses.

Frequently asked questions

Do we need a company physician for lifestyle analyses?

No. In Germany, the physician requirement of Section 7 GenDG applies to examinations for medical purposes; in Austria, the specialist requirement of Section 68 GTG applies to type 3 and 4 analyses. In Switzerland, an authorized health professional prescribes the lifestyle analysis (Art. 34 GUMG). As an adviser on the concept, the company physician is still valuable.

May the company physician offer the genetic analysis during an occupational health appointment?

In Germany, no. Genetic examinations or analyses may not be carried out within occupational medical examinations (Section 20(1) GenDG); exceptions are very narrow. A medical analysis therefore needs its own voluntary medical service with a separate appointment.

What qualifications does the physician need for medical analyses?

In Germany, predictive genetic examinations may only be carried out by specialists in human genetics or by physicians who have qualified for genetic examinations within their field (Section 7(1) GenDG). In Austria, type 3 and 4 analyses may only be requested by a specialist in human/medical genetics or in the relevant field of indication (Section 68(1) GTG).

Can an employee release her medical result to the employer by giving consent?

No, not in a way that works for the employer. The physician may share the result with others given explicit consent (Section 11(3) GenDG), and in Austria data may be passed on with explicit written consent (Section 71(2) GTG). But the employer may neither receive nor use such results (Section 19 GenDG), or accept or otherwise use them (Section 67 GTG).

Does the employer learn who took part in a medical analysis?

Certainly not the results: company physicians are bound by medical confidentiality (Section 8(1) ASiG), and in Austria by the duty of confidentiality under Section 54 ÄrzteG. To keep participation itself confidential too, plan separate appointments outside occupational medical care, with no registration through HR.

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Note: This guide is general information for businesses and professionals and does not replace medical or legal advice. The genetic traits determined in a genetic analysis are well documented (each gene included is backed by at least three independent studies); recommendations derived from them are logical conclusions, not scientifically proven. Regulations can change; errors and changes excepted.