Workers returning from an injury are more than three times more likely to (re)injure themselves than uninjured workers. So it’s critical that employers enact programming to ensure workers returning to the job from an injury or extended absence do so safely.
Trilogy in partnership with WorkSTEPS offers diverse programming specifically designed to objectively determine what an injured or impaired worker is capable of safely doing, and when he/she is safe to return to “full duty.”
WorkSTEPS Functional Fit for Duty testing safely and objectively determines if an employee returning to work post-injury can still safely perform the essential functions of the job. Because treating physicians rarely measure functional performance as part of a rehabilitation and treatment process, it’s imperative that employers ensure that an employee has not deconditioned during their absence and recovery and are still able to safely perform the essential functions of the job.
Employees seeking a more individualized and data-driven programming should consider WorkSTEPS Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCEs) to help inform return-to-work and rehabilitation decisions. FCEs are full-body comprehensive medical tests used to measure an employee’s functional capacity and assist in injury management, whether the injury was sustained while at work or existed previously.
One FCE should be given at the time of injury to determine severity and legitimacy for optimum injury management. Another FCE should be administered during rehabilitation to determine progress. A final FCE should be conducted post-rehabilitation to determine the employee’s ability to return to his or her job. At the time of injury, when compared against data previously collected, the FCE may be used to prove consistency and validity of performance and create realistic, objective rehabilitation goals, return to work recommendations, or work conditioning programs. This information is valuable in objectively moving the patient through the system in a fair and timely manner.
Injury Triage & Medical Case Management work together to ensure, firstly, that employee injuries are handled appropriately from the start and, secondly, that claims are managed quickly and efficiently with effective medical care and loss control in mind. Our expert clinical claims managers ensure that employees are safely returned to work as fast as possible.
Detailed, up-to-date data identifying the physical demands, regulatory requirements, and all other job components associated with your jobs stored in WorkSTEPS EHS DataHub empower employers to make informed decisions about when an employee is safe to return to work, or what meaningful contributions an employee can make when placed on modified duty. WorkSTEPS EHS DataHub brings together the talent of rehabilitation, health & safety, and information technology professionals to make invaluable health and safety information available at the click of a mouse. Paired with our work capacity assessment services, WorkSTEPS EHS DataHub makes it easy to match a worker’s abilities to job requirements.
Trilogy in partnership with WorkSTEPS can help you develop policies and procedures designed to expedite safe return-to-work programming through functional testing.
As an employer you want to be sure all your employees are medically and physically-capable of performing the essential functions of their job, and that they’re legally compliant with their job’s regulatory requirements. This is particularly critical for employers in highly-regulated and/or high-risk industries. WorkSTEPS Fit for Duty Testing, which includes return-to-work functional Fit for Duty exams, will help you establish a culture of health and safety in which your injured employees get back to work safely and efficiently.
Working with WorkSTEPS through Trilogy can:
- Decrease work-related illness and injuries
- Lower workers’ compensation costs
- Decrease healthcare costs
- Lower accident rates
Injury Prevention Programs
We spend a large amount of our lives working. Because of this, it is important to make sure that we are maintaining our full health-and-wellness potential while we are in the workplace. Fortunately, at Trilogy Physical Therapy, we offer Injury Prevention Programs in order to help patients remain healthy while they are working. To learn more about these specialized programs, contact our Amherst & Clarence, NY physical therapy office today!
What are Injury Prevention Programs?
At Trilogy Physical Therapy, these programs are employed in order to enhance an employee’s happiness, satisfaction, and overall wellness in the workplace. They have also helped in increasing employee awareness and compliance with health and wellness activities throughout the workplace. Our program promotes healthy mental, emotional, and physical well-being through various opportunities offered to employees. Some integral aspects of our Workplace Wellness program at Trilogy Physical Therapy include:
- Baseline Biometric Screening. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this test measures your baseline of physical attributes, such as height, weight, blood pressure, BMI, cholesterol, and more. It is a basic health assessment to see where your average range falls, and to see if the workplace has an effect on anything.
- Baseline Movement Assessment. Much like the baseline biometric screening, a baseline movement assessment evaluates the movement and function of your body. Everyone moves in different ways, and this type of assessment can help determine if there are any areas at risk of sustaining an injury while you’re on the job.
- Wellness Questionnaire. This type of questionnaire helps in determining one’s overall wellbeing. It may include diet, exercise, underlying conditions, or specific lifestyle choices. It helps to assess your quality of health and how the workplace may be affecting it.
- Job Satisfaction Survey. General happiness and satisfaction with certain aspects of one’s life can have a huge impact on health and wellness. Job satisfaction surveys help an employee voice any concerns they may have with their job, in addition to allowing employers to see issues in the workplace and facilitate solutions for change. When an employee is satisfied with their job, they tend to make healthier lifestyle choices, as well.
- Nutritional Consult. It is no secret that working full time can make maintaining a healthy diet challenging. Meeting with a nutritional consultant can help an employee manage nutritional meals around their busy schedule, in addition to promoting a healthy metabolism, body weight, and immune response.
- Wellness Newsletter. Sometimes a work/life balance can be difficult to maintain. Wellness newsletters help in providing education, support, and resources to employees in order to help them live healthy and happy lives both inside and outside of the workplace.
- On-Site Access to Physical Therapy. Having direct access to physical therapy treatments can be extremely beneficial, especially in cases of work-related pain or injury. On-site access to physical therapy can help in providing safe, convenient, and quick treatment for any pain an employee may develop.
How will Injury Prevention Programs benefit me?
Injury Prevention Programs have multiple proven benefits. For example, participation in our Wellness Programs at Trilogy Physical Therapy have resulted in a 25% reduction in absenteeism, health care costs, and Workers’ Compensation Claims. That equates to an approximate $3-6 return on investment for every $1 invested into the program. Additionally, there has been an average of 50% increase in productivity for employees who participate in the program.
If you are interested in promoting health and wellness in the workplace and/or making your work/life balance more manageable, contact Trilogy Physical Therapy today! Our Amherst & Clarence, NY physical therapists will be happy to meet with you and get you started on the first steps of the program.
Functional Capacity Evaluations
Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCEs) are highly specialized services that implement extensive physical and evaluative testing to determine the physical capabilities and limits of a patient. These evaluations are used to measure strength, endurance, positional tolerance, and daily physical demands. This form of testing is typically done for injured employees, to determine the root of the injury and how additional damage can be prevented in the future. The data gathered is an objective way to define what the injured employee’s limits currently are, and how they can be improved upon. For more information regarding Functional Capacity Evaluations, contact Trilogy Physical Therapy today.
What do Functional Capacity Evaluations do?
The main purpose of FCEs is to answer eight distinct questions:
- Can this patient return to work safely?
- How severe is the patient’s pain?
- What type of job can this patient physically handle?
- What are the patient’s safe lifting tolerances?
- What work accommodations could be made to allow this patient to return to work?
- What is the next appropriate step in regards to rehabilitation?
- What are the patient’s cardiovascular and physical endurance limitations for working?
- What are the patient’s positional tolerances for standing, sitting, walking?
Functional Capacity Evaluations work to assist several people involved in the process, including the injured employee, the employer, the physician, the insurance company, the attorney (if applicable), the case manager (if applicable), and the vocational consultant (if applicable).
An FCE is conducted in order to determine a safe return to work, OR in some cases, they can be done as deemed necessary by a hiring manager to establish the functional capabilities of an employee before beginning work. It can also help in determining any liabilities for short-term or long-term disabilities that may have been sustained by the injured employee.
The main features of a Functional Capacity Evaluation include:
- Certified FCE evaluators
- Quality assurance monitoring
- Peer-reviewed research
- Standardized functional testing protocols
- A national network
What are the benefits of Functional Capacity Evaluations?
While FCEs have several benefits associated with them, the main focus is on helping injured employees heal and return to work. These tests help in determining the level of participation in physical demands that is appropriate for the patient, therefore reducing the probability of re-injury. They can also help in determining what areas of physical improvement the patient can work on, in order to make their workday more comfortable and efficient.
These tests are scientifically developed, ensuring an objective result. In addition to helping patients heal and understand their physical boundaries, they can also provide crucial information to the employer, as well. FCEs can help an employer understand what safety standards should be set for employees, in order to reduce the risk of injury and workers’ compensation claims. Overall, Functional Capacity Evaluations can help in making sure the workplace is a safe and pain-free environment for everyone.
Contact Trilogy Physical Therapy today:
At our Amherst & Clarence, NY physical therapy office, we are dedicated to preventing as many injuries as possible. If you are recovering from a work-related injury, you would benefit from participating in a Functional Capacity Evaluation, in order to learn your limits before returning. Don’t let yourself be a risk for re-injury – contact Trilogy Physical Therapy today to schedule an appointment and learn more about how FCEs can significantly reduce your risk of a work-related injury!
