Overview
If you provide care to patients who also happen to be workers, you are already in a relationship with employers in your community. Many rehab professionals do not actively manage that relationship, which can lead to misunderstandings about what therapy can accomplish and what an employer can realistically support during recovery.
This article explores practice-expansion opportunities for clinic-based and on-site rehab professionals who choose to develop stronger employer relationships. It was originally published on Rehab Management.
Why employer relationships matter more than ever
Rehab professionals are increasingly engaged in work injury prevention and return-to-work support. Employers are also reaching out more often for help, including health and wellness services, ergonomic guidance, and input on complex reasonable accommodation situations.
The cost of disabling workplace injuries remains significant. Liberty Mutual's Research Institute for Safety has reported that these injuries cost the U.S. workers' compensation system tens of billions of dollars annually, with a gradual downward trend and plenty of room for improvement. The common priority for all stakeholders is clear: keep employees at work safely and productively.
The shared goal: safe and productive return to work
All parties have roles in work-related injuries:
- Workers are called to do their best to return to the job.
- Employers are called to bring workers back.
- Insurers are called to pay for care that restores health and functional ability related to the job.
- Rehab professionals are called to efficiently facilitate safe, productive return to work.
This is not always easy. Injured workers may be fearful or defensive, and secondary gains can become more tempting as time away from work increases. Keeping return to work as a central goal within a plan of care takes effort, but the payoff benefits everyone.
Recognize the relationship, then manage it
Whether or not a clinic or provider intends it, a relationship with employers exists. The conduit is the worker: the employee for the employer and the patient for the clinician.
When this relationship is left to benign neglect, neither side knows what the other expects or can contribute to safe, productive work. Misunderstandings can develop. Therapy may be perceived as ineffective when it does not return a worker as quickly as expected. Employers may be perceived as unsafe when they appear to push workers beyond restrictions.
Clear communication is the lever
Communication breaks down when stakeholders lack a well-written, job-specific description of physical requirements for each essential job function. Many organizations rely on a short "laundry list" of only the hardest demands. That approach often slows return to work because the worker may not be allowed to return until they can perform every difficult element at once.
More effective approaches describe physical demands by job function. When each function's physical requirements are clearly defined, employers can use transitional duty more effectively. As the worker improves, the employer can ramp up which functions the worker performs, rather than waiting for full, all-or-nothing capacity.
These function-based descriptions also help medical and rehab teams set clearer goals. Instead of communicating only restrictions, clinicians can communicate ability in job-specific language that employers, supervisors, and safety teams can interpret and act on.
What does it take to reach this level
1) Cooperation across stakeholders
Employers must be willing to use job function-based descriptions and invite qualified rehab professionals to develop them. Adjusters, case managers, physicians, and therapists need to request these documents and use them consistently. Reimbursement stakeholders need to support the work. Consistent use of function-based information is where meaningful cost reduction becomes realistic.
2) Training beyond traditional clinic skills
Rehab professionals often need additional training in job analysis, document development, job function testing, ergonomics, wellness services, and workplace safety. A structured approach and an end product that all stakeholders can interpret is critical.
One practical observation is that when objective, job-specific information is missing, decision-making becomes more defensive. When objective information is present, stakeholders tend to take a more constructive, forward-moving approach and cooperation increases.
3) Engaging with employers as a core part of community impact
Providers who fully engage with employers can extend beyond the limits of traditional insurance reimbursement. Job analysis, job function description development, job function testing, ergonomic support, prevention training, and on-site education can become part of standard services to employers.
This work also supports practice growth. These services can reasonably be billed at consultant rates when providers can show return on investment through improved outcomes such as fewer claims, fewer days away from work, fewer restricted days, and lower medical, indemnity, and legal costs.
Practical next step
If you want to strengthen how you communicate with employers and support safer return to work decisions, start by improving job clarity and job function documentation. Learn how DSI approaches this workflow on our Job Function Matching page.
References
- Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety. Liberty Mutual Research Institute Workplace Safety Index (2017). Available online at Workplace Safety Index.
- Originally published on Rehab Management: Are You Managing Your Relationship with Employers?.
