Articles

There is a growing trend in NSW Workers Compensation for larger employers to manage injury portfolios and the return to work process in house. There is however one component of the return to work process which can not be managed in house and that is treatment. Not only is treatment not able to be managed in house but it can be difficult to follow what treatment an injured worker is receiving and whether or not this treatment is specific to rehabilitating them back to their work duties.

Exercise Physiologists are university qualified injury treatment providers who specialise in the sub acute to chronic phase of injury. Exercise Physiologists or EPs as they are commonly known, develop workplace specific rehabilitation programs which take into consideration the Return to Work (RTW)  program developed by the RTW Coordinator, workplace demands, work environment, personal injury and personal coping strategies. Upgrades in capacity are communicated directly to the in house RTW coordinator or claims manager as well as the doctor to encourage timely upgrades in line with the proposed plan.

The following evidence was recently collated by NSW Workers Compensation in support of completing treatment within the workplace. From Broker et al., “in the subacute phase where intervention was tied to the workplace and an evaluation of the workers job was an integral part of intervention, very significant reductions in time off work were demonstrated. Clinical interventions that include a workplace connection or goal appear more successful than clinical intervention on its own”. From the Cochrane review, “workplace interventions reduce time off work for MSK (musculoskeletal) injury compared with usual care”. Further arguments towards conducting treatment within the workplace include:

• Clinic treatment tends to reinforce the ‘sick’ or injured role by introducing the worker to a new environment because of their injury, whereas being in the workplace reinforces messages such as ‘early return to work as rehab’ and ‘you can return to suitable work despite pain’
• Clinics tend to reinforce reliance on the treatment provider, gym instructor, or particular equipment rather than supporting progression towards self management and the practice of suitable work tasks as rehab

If you currently manage your claims in house and would like to learn more about how Actevate can support you in providing treatment to support your services please contact Leone Doyle on 9222 7414 or leone@actevate.com.au