Work Solutions Insight

Your work injury management newsletter JUNE 2010

 

Occupational Medicine and Job Function Matching :
An interview with Dr Van Balen

Background:Clayton Van Balen MD is the Medical Director of Sanford Clinic Occupational Medicine and Walk-In Clinic Sioux Falls SD. He works closely with Raven Industries, a large manufacturing firm in Sioux Falls that has chosen to implement DSI Job Function Matching for injury prevention and return to work processes, The DSI provider is Sanford Hospital Rehab Dept. This interview explores his perspective on having the objective testing/job matching tools available for his medical direction role.

Question: How does the DSI JFM process assist you in your work?
Answer : Objective job testing results for early return to work (RTW), allow me to assist Raven in improving RTW through an accurate description of what their worker can do on their specific job.

Question: What is the reaction within the company when you have used the JFM as your return to work release?
Answer: First, the workers are positive about their situation since they have been tested. It makes them more willing to go back to work. I believe it deters adversarial relationships and chronicity of conditions. Within the company, supervisors are aware of the JFM process. It allows them to put their workers back to work without guesswork. It gives supervisors direct job ability information and modifications and the results are updated every two weeks or as necessary. The supervisors have said “keep this up” I give the Job Function Match form to the Human Resources Department and they give it to the supervisors.

Question: What is your internal process and how has it changed?
 Answer: I send the injured worker to the rehab department for job function testing mostly the first day I see them. When I get the results back, I ok them and send them to the company. The employer has instituted an excellent policy which results in my ability to see workers earlier and then send the job specific RTW form quickly to the employer.

Question: How does this work when there are outside or specialty physicians? Answer: I just had this happen yesterday. Because the workers see me for their final return to work check, I was seeing a patient where the surgeon had written a restriction “no use of the right arm for more than an hour a day”. After job function testing, we had a much clearer picture, however, of exactly what the person was safely capable of performing and what they couldn’t do. At that moment they could do 6/8 of their essential functions of the job. I called him “doctor to doctor” to share JFM. I thanked him for his recommendation and also shared the results of the job function match. He was pleased to know how his patient could safely return to work, and we also identified items that he could not do yet and would not be forced to do. That created his “aha” moment. He said, “If you have this information, by all means use it”. Thus the worker went back to work doing most of his job and our rehab department used the other two functions as part of their rehab goals. He will retest in two weeks. This RTW would not have been accomplished under the older restriction system. Other physicians have also told me that they would be interested in learning more. At that time, a representative of the company and our DSI JFM consultant talks to the physician group.

Question: What other improvements have you noted?
Answer : By doing Job Function Matching, it has taken down the barrier of not knowing what the worker actually does on the job. The JFM quantifies their ability related to that job. It has also given me a stronger and more positive relationship with injured workers. Because of job relatedness and the fact that they are actually tested, they have confidence they are part of the process and it has taken away the stigma of me being a “company” doctor. The worker trust has improved. Objectivity, confidence, trust and relationships have improved with all parties.

New DSI providers have been trained and are performing DSI Job Function Matching and Functional Capacity Assessment

All new and current DSI providers can be accessed with the following link:
View DSI providers

  • Door County Memorial Hospital, Sturgeon Bay, WI.
  • Eisenhower Medical Center, Rancho Mirage, CA.
  • Enfield Health and Wellness, Enfield, CT.
  • Crescent City Physical Therapy, New Orleans, LA.
  • WorkFit Solutions, Orlando FL
  • SERC of Belton/Raymore, Belton, MO
  • SERC of Harrisonville, Harrisonville, MO
  • SERC of Lee's Summit, Lee's Summit, MO
  • SERC of Olathe, Olathe, KS
  • SERC of Overland Park, Overland Park, KS
  • SERC of Odessa, Odessa, MO
  • SERC of Liberty, Liberty, MO
  • SERC of Riverside, Riverside, MO
  • SERC of Lansing, Lansing, KS
  • SERC of Raytown, Kansas City, MO
  • SERC of South Raytown, Raytown, MO
  • SERC of Shawnee, Shawnee, KS
  • (SERC) Physical Therapy of Warrensburg, Warrensburg, MO

 

Legal update: lifting restriction is not a disability under ADA

DSI scans court findings and new developments to add meaning to the job function matching process. This ruling clarifies work comp vs federal definitions.

In Weigand v Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority NY 2-16-10, identified that a “lifting restriction” precluding an employee from doing some of his job, is not enough for a “disability” to be present. A bus mechanic was given a 50 lb lifting restriction which subsequently precluded overtime, and other benefits. When restrictions were lifted he sued for previous benefits under the disability laws. The court ruled that a lifting restriction is not a disability and he was not covered under ADA for that restriction. Again, state awards are not the same as ADA definitions.

Source: Disability Compliance Bulletin

 

Working in Industry: Onsite Work Injury Management & Prevention

DSI Work Solutions is pleased to announce DSI’s latest consultation offering titled Onsite Injury Management and Prevention. This onsite consultation is provided to DSI-trained therapists interested in starting onsite services as a primary practice or to complement their job function matching clinical work. This one day consultation is available now. The highlights of the consultation day include:

  • Working relationships with employers, safety professional, human resources and workers plus onsite or offsite medical team
  • OSHA issues and recordability of interventions
  • First aid
  • Early treatment intervention
  • Stretching programs
  • Basic ergonomics with individual workers and work methods
  • Forms and format samples

Contributors to the onsite consultation are primary developer Scott Ege PT with assistance from Nancy Bellendorf OTR, Curt DeWeese PT, Ginnie Halling PT, Dennis Isernhagen PT and Sue Isernhagen PT.

For more information on the onsite consultation, contact Sue at: sisernhagen@dsiworksolutions.com

 

Webinars continue due to high participation:

Current webinars: Webinars from fall 2009-spring 2010 have all been recorded and are available for participation and education by registering with DSI. Contact Lisa Mertz at lmertz@disoworksolutions.com or Sue at: sisernhagen@dsiworksolutions.com

The following topics are available now:

  • Ergonomics (3)
  • Functional Capacity Assessment
  • Onsite injury prevention and injury management teams (2)
  • Americans with Disability Act Amendment
  • The Aging worker.

Follow this link to full information and registration:
View Webinar Information

2020-2011 webinars:
A full slate of webinars will begin this fall. If you have suggestions for contact, please email Sue at sisernhagen@dsiworksolutions.com or
Lisa at: lmertz@dsiworksolutions.com