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Return to Work & Employment Issues 1/29/2008 4:42:30 PM EST Dr. Jennifer Christian on ACOEM's New Work Disability Prevention Guideline Physician, Board Certified in Occupational Medicine
Physicians see devastating psychological, medical, social, and economic effects caused by unnecessarily prolonged work disability and loss of employability. They also see wasted human and financial resources and lost productivity. The physicians who developed the American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) work disability prevention guideline know that many missed work days and lost jobs are not required from a strictly medical point of view.
In this expert commentary written by Dr. Jennifer Christian, President of Webility Corporation, the American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) work disability prevention guideline is presented as a way to better handle key non-medical aspects of the process that determines if an injured or ill person will stay at work or return to work will improve outcomes.
The author writes: “Finding better ways of handling key non-medical aspects of the process that determines if an injured or ill person will stay at work or return to work will improve outcomes. Until now, the distinct nature and importance of the stay at work and return to work process (SAW/RTW) has been overlooked. Improvements to that process will support optimal health and function for more individuals, encourage their continuing contribution to society, help control the growth of disability program costs, and protect the competitive vitality of the North American economy.”
Dr. Christian also states: “The first half of the ACOEM work disability prevention guideline provides the groundwork for readers to understand the second half. Most importantly, the first half describes the SAW/RTW process, how it works and how it parallels other related processes. The second half discusses factors that lead to needless work disability and what can be done about them.”
Dr. Christian’s paper is designed to answer these fundamental questions:
- Why do some people who develop common everyday problems like backache, wrist pain, depression, fatigue, and aging have trouble staying at work or returning to work?
- How can employers and insurers work more effectively with healthcare providers to reduce the disruptive impact of injury, illness and age on people’s daily lives and work, and help them remain fully engaged in society as long as possible?
Dr. Christian’s paper also consists of observations and recommendations about the current status of and potential improvements to the SAW/RTW process in North America today. Sixteen specific recommendations are described in groups under the four general recommendations. Each of the16 specific recommendation sections:
- Identifies specific challenges and non-medical factors that now combine to create needless disability and its negative consequences
- Recommends ways that many of the issues can be addressed
- Points out initiatives underway and best practices in preventing needless disability among working people who are faced with injury or illness
Access the complete commentary on lexis.com
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