Early Return to Work Programs: The Second Best Tool for Controlling Workers’ Compensation Costs

Why Have an Early Return to Work Program? Second to accident prevention efforts, an Early Return to Work (ERTW) Program is management’s best tool to minimize the financial cost of a Workers’ Compensation claim. The key word is “Early”. Your actions upon notification of illness or injury have a profound impact on the outcome of most cases. ERTW actions should start as soon as possible. Statistics and Facts about Return to Work: An ERTW Program will have a direct impact on your Workers’ Compensation premium for the next three years! Typically, an injured employee, of a company without an ERTW Program, will contact an attorney within two weeks after injury.

Studies show that 80% of all litigated claims result in higher settlements. Employees who retain an attorney see an average of 5.2 doctors. Those who do not retain an attorney are treated by an average of 2. Studies also show the chance of litigation is reduced by 50% if the employer maintains contact with the injured employee which reinforces the worker’s self image and value to the company. Returning an injured employee to the workplace reduces associated recovery costs, including medical expenses, rehab expenses, therapy and surgical expenses. Often the percentage of permanent impairment is significantly reduced. Injured employees off work longer than six months have only a 50% chance of every returning to their job; if lost time exceeds one year, their chances decrease to less than 10%!

Objectives of Return to Work Programs: Return to work objectives should include the following:
Reduce the number of cases entering the workers’ compensation litigation system. Decrease the number of lost work days.
Increase employee morale and motivation to return to and remain at work.
Facilitate temporary or permanent job reassignment or job restructuring.
Identify alternative employment consisting of modified duties.

Types of Alternative Work Activities: An employee who is off work for a sustained period of time will lose interest in his/her job and be less effective upon return to work. The main idea is that the employee moves from a placid environment, where the disability is the reason for being at home or off work, back to a productive environment. At work, the employee’s mind is busy with production, and the productive atmosphere fosters positive thoughts.

Modified Work
Modified Work is when an employee is brought back to work and placed temporarily within an existing job that is not as physically taxing or demanding as their normal job.

Restricted Work
Restricted Work is when an employee is brought back to their normal job with restrictions assigned by a physician, i.e. lifting no more than 30 lbs., six times per hour, standing no more than two hours, etc.

Modified or Total Accommodation
This is when positions are specifically created which will accommodate the restrictions of the injured employee.

Job Function Analysis: You should develop a Job Function Analysis, which is an extension of the Job Description and its purpose is to:
Describe tasks and physical demands of the regular job.
Develop a task inventory which can be used to fill the work day, for an injured employee.
Allows the supervisor a broad selection from which to choose and accommodate many different types of injuries.
Be used by the treating physician to determine job limitations.

Why Use a Managed Care Facility?
Statistics show that the longer an injured employee is off work, the greater the total cost of that case. This is where Concentra is a huge benefit. Concentra provides occupational healthcare services that employers need to keep safe and healthy workforce.

Each patient medical encounter is an opportunity to measure the effectiveness of our treatment procedures and our management processes from the first visit to case closure. Customers who have provided total claim cost data for comparative result studies have discovered that injuries not treated by Concentra have higher average total claim costs. The study results indicate that Concentra saves employers up to 52% per claim when compared to other providers in the study.

To find real solutions, look to Concentra:
Dynamic Early Intervention Model Exercise-based therapy with functional outcomes Workers return to work with a reduced risk of re-injury

Your employees will receive high-quality healthcare from specialists that understand your occupational healthcare needs. Better care and better outcomes mean a better bottom line for everyone.

Conclusion
Assign someone enthusiastic to oversee your ERTW Program.
Analyze injury statistics to determine problem areas and then meet withsupervisors to analyze and document modified duty tasks within existing job descriptions, prior to an injury.
Ensure that all tasks are important to your operation and productivity.
Communicate the goals and rationale of the program to all supervisors and employees so that everyone know how it works and how they fit into the plan.
Evaluate the program on a regular basis and make adjustments as necessary.

About the Authors
Sunny Corona, is Managing Member of Custom Safety Services, LLC and is a Certified Safety Professional with 25 years in the safety field. Custom Safety Services is a safety consulting / training firm specializing in workplace violence/sexual harassment, office /industrial ergonomics, OSHA compliance Fleet Safety Programs and Return to Work Programs . Contact Sunny@CustomSafetyServices.com or 201-703-6966.

Orlando Vasquez is a Health Services Manager with Concentra Medical Centers, who have 8 locations in Northern NJ and over 300 locations nationwide. Contact Orlando_vasquez@concentra.com or 201-206-4554.