With the onset of the industrial revolution and the creation of workers’ compensation insurance, the need to determine the fitness for duty of the employee became critical to the employer. The underwriting process for insurance placed a greater emphasis upon the employer’s responsibility to make certain the worker was not placed at risk in performing the usual and customary job duties. A negative loss experience had, and continues to have, a correspondingly negative impact upon the cost of insurance for the employer with a work force placed at risk.
PHYSIOstaff is a licensed provider of WorkSTEPS, helping corporations hire smart, maintain regulatory compliance, reduce risk and injury rates, and contain and manage costs related to work health and safety. Clients experience the following benefits:
- Decreased turnover, increase worker productivity, and reduction in lost time
- Safer work environment
- Diminished incidence of fraud and abuse
- Reduced modifier rates and Workers’ Compensation premiums
- Reduction in group health costs
In returning individuals to work subsequent to medical treatment, reliance has historically been placed upon the physician to determine the residual abilities of the worker. In cases with limited or no residual disability, the answer is usually quite easy to obtain. However, injuries with a noticeable impairment and corresponding disability present a significant issue to the insurance company, the employer, and the employee. The overwhelming tendency is for the medical community to present the worker’s condition in technical, impairment-based medical terminology. What does a 30-degree loss of abduction and a 15-degree loss of internal rotation of the right upper extremity mean to a carpenter? To the employer, employee, and the insurance company, this does not tell us whether the carpenter can safely perform the job. And, if the worker does have some limitations, what functions will he or she be capable of safely performing?
It is also important to understand why and when functional testing should or could be conducted. A Functional Capacity Evaluation or Post Offer of Employment Test is a process that should be driven by the nature of the referral question. Whether the question is can an individual safely return to work following an injury (modified or not) or does the individual meet basic job demands required to perform their job safely must be addressed and answered. The Functional Testing system also recognizes varying complexities in the evaluation of function, and the need to address each issue on a customizable basis.
Components of Industrial Therapy Services include:
Work Hardening/Conditioning
Work Hardening and Work Conditioning programs are designed to restore an individual’s capacity to the point he or she is able to return to work either at the pre-injury position or a new occupation for which the residual abilities are appropriately matched. Work Hardening programs are specifically matched to the occupation that is under consideration through the development of simulated work tasks that replicate those physical demands that will be encountered during the performance of the usual and customary job duties. Although it would be ideal to replicate the exact function or task required, the limitation most commonly encountered is the ability to provide the resources to perform the identical task (e.g., providing a train engine to simulate railroad engineer functions)
Post-Offer Employment/Fit for Duty Testing
This test is performed, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, subsequent to the offer of employment by the employer to the job candidate. In the United States, the offer is considered conditional until the employee demonstrates the ability to perform the physical demands of the essential functions. Provides the ability to develop appropriate alternate or modified functions on a more expedient, cost effective basis if the worker is unable to perform the essential functions of the position. This will help to establish expedited communications for return-to-work potential and the identification of medical apportionment not attributable to the injury in question.
Functional Capacity Evaluation
This evaluation is performed when the disability determination requires an outline of the capacity of the individual in relation to the impairment or impairments. It is a comprehensive evaluation used to determine the impact of an impairment on the individual residual capacity for work-related activities.
Impairment Specific Evaluations
This type of testing is performed when a determination needs to be made as to the functional limitations/abilities of the individual directly related to the impaired body part of system. The test components may also be used in conjunction with a doctor’s report of impairment as independent third-party measurement that the physician may cite on an objective basis.
Why Industrial Rehabilitation?
Worker’s Compensation Assumes:
- Workers are in perfect shape when hired
- Workers never grow older
- Any injury sustained while at work is the employer’s fault
Industrial Rehabilitation Successfully:
- Identifies workers with pre-existing conditions
- Determines a worker’s capability to safely meet essential job demands
- Distinguishes legitimate claims from fraudulent ones
- Expedites return to work
- Holds worker responsible for their own improvement
Research Validates:
- 10% of the American workforce is physically incapable of performing the essential functions of their job safely
- 75% of workplace injuries occur among these same 10%
Results:
- Decreased turnover rate
- Increased productivity
- Decreased incidence of fraud and abuse
- Reduction in work-related injuries
- Overall savings in costs
What to Know
Time
60 minute sessions
Activity
Repetitive movements that may include resistance, weights or cardio
Attire
Wear comfortable clothes that allow free range of movement, like athletic shorts and T-shirt
Locations Offering
Industrial Therapy
Atascocita
7036 FM 1960 East, Suite B
Atascocita, TX 77346
Baytown
3818 Decker Drive
Baytown, TX 77520
Dayton
605 W. Clayton Street, Ste. H
Dayton, TX 77535
Mont Belvieu
9235 Highway 146 North, Suite 7B
Mont Belvieu, TX 77523
Appointment Request
Please call (281) 424-7557 and we’ll be happy to help you with your scheduling needs!