INJURY PREVENTION IN THE WORKPLACE

1. INJURY PREVENTION IN THE WORKPLACE TOOLS FOR COST CONTAINMENT WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

2. TOOLS FOR INJURY MAMANGEMENT • FUNCTIONAL JOB DESCRIPTIONS • POST OFFER/PRE-EMPLOYMENT SCREENS • FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY EVALUATIONS • ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

3. Why Injury Prevention? • Decrease injury-related expenses • ADA and OSHA Compliance • Employee satisfaction and retention • Improve productivity • Improve profit margin WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

4. INJURY COSTMedical CostsEmployee WagesBenefit Package PaymentsSalary of Replacement PersonnelTraining of Replacement PersonnelOvertime for Current Personnel WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

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6. FUNCTIONAL JOB DESCRIPTIONS FOUNDATION FOR ALL OTHER TOOLS WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

7. Determine the Physical Demands of the Job • Direct observation • Video analysis • Comprehensive description of physical demands WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

8. POST-OFFER SCREENS WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

9. How does pre-employment work? Research shows Matching worker’s abilities to job demands Prevents injury WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

10. Effectiveness • Major manufacturer of optical fiber • Used ErgoScience evaluation • 1,000 applicants screened over 4 years • Less than 10 injuries WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

11. Swift Trucking 30-50% reduction in new employee injuries Heinz 77% reduction in TRIR’s $130,000 decrease in work comp expenses Goodyear (Unionized) 80% reduction in new hire injury claims 65% decrease in cost of work comp claims 12% decrease in lost time days 48% increase in new hire retention rates Benchmarking WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

12. Optimal Sequence • Interview • Conditional offer • Post-offer/pre-employment screen • medical screen • physical abilities testing WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

13. Steps of the Post-offer Screening Process • Focusing the post-offer screening • Determine physical demands • Customize screening • Implementation • Modification WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

14. Compare Abilities To Job DemandsAfter Conditional Offer Abilities match job demands HIRE AND PLACE WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

15. Compare Abilities To Job DemandsAfter Conditional Offer Abilities do not match job demands • Disability reasonable accommodation • Non-disability do not hire or alternative placement WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

16. Important Considerations Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Must test only the essential functions of the job! WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

17. Traps to AVOID! • Pre-offer testing • Predicting future injury • General strength testing • Making comparisons to normative data ADA EEOC WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

18. INSTEAD... DETERMINE WHETHER PHYSICAL ABILITIES MEET JOB DEMANDS AVOID PROBLEMS! AVOID LITIGATION WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

19. FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY EVALUATION PWPE-PHYSICAL WORK PERFORMANCE EVALUATION WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

20. In Workers Compensation Life-Altering Decisions Are Made ! Safe Return to Work? Disability determination? Employability? Continuation of Treatment? Residual Functional Capacity? Implications of these decisions are enormous! WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

21. Timing is everything... • Return to work too soon Injury??? • Out of work too long Costs everyone! • Employer • Insurer • Patient • Health Care Provider WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

22. Functional Capacity Evaluations • FCE can help you make appropriate RTW decisions • Objective Measures • Provide Critical Information • Save You Time WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

23. Without FCE... RTW Decisions Require a Lot of Guesswork! • Client self-report • Do you think you are ready to go back to work? • Impairment/diagnosis-based decision • Imaging studies • Range of motions • General impressions WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

24. Problems with This Approach • Self-report • Is influenced by motivation • job satisfaction • financial incentives • Impairment information • Not equal to function No objective information about patients’ functional abilities WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

25. An FCE Can Help You…. • Progress Treatment • Match Abilities to Job Demands • Make RTW Decisions • Determine Work Restrictions • Make Reasonable Accommodations • Evaluate Performance Inconsistencies • Facilitate Case Closure WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

26. PWPE Benefits to the Patient/Client • Knowledge of Safe Activity Levels • Increased Confidence in Ability to RTW • Objective Information for • Improving Function • Overall Quality of Life WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

27. PWPE Benefit to the Physician • Provides an accurate summary of physical capacities • Saves time • Improves communication • patient, • employer, • other providers • Can be counted on in court WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

28. PWPE Benefit to the Case Manager • Objective information for the rehab plan • Reliable data to facilitate case closure • Expedites safe, productive return to work WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

29. When should I order the PWPE? • When you need to make... • a return to work decision • a disability determination • When you need... • objective, functional information for job placement WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

30. Overall level of work Tolerance 8 hr day Level of cooperation Specific limitations Job match Interventions Job placement Work transition Barriers to address Modified duty needs Return to work decisions Program planning How does the PWPE report assist me with my patient’s case? WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

31. ACTIVE SURVEILLENCE • Promotes early reporting of injury. • Identification of ergonomic hazards. • Real time quick fixes of hazards. • Workers job satisfaction improves. • Opportunity for safety education. • Enhanced communication with supervisor. • Immediate instruction in first aide measures. WORKSAFE Physical Therapy

32. WorkSafe Physical Therapy “Promoting wellness, preventing injury. Nancy Wilson, PT Shelly Kueny, PT 1999 N Amidon, Ste 100 Wichita, Ks. 316-262-8800 WORKSAFE Physical Therapy