How to Measure the Effectiveness of Your Return-To-Work Program

A body in motion stays in motion. This old saying applies not only to physics but also to the goal of ensuring that injured workers, regardless of the severity of their injury, are restored to full function before returning to work. The question is how do you truly measure it?

An employee who undergoes assessment and receives approval to return to work is more confident and less likely to be reinjured. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, less than half of injured workers will ever return to work if they are out for more than six months.

The key to a successful return-to-work program is to make sure that an employee is physically capable of doing their job without risking reinjury. This can be confirmed through a physical capabilities test. This approach helps prevent them from developing a "disability mindset." By focusing on an employee's ability to work in a predetermined capacity, instead of their inability to work, it can speed up full functional recovery.

Effective return-to-work programs incorporate several crucial elements, including clear communication, a well-defined plan and schedule for light-duty work, and the use of technology to enhance assessments, facilitate recovery, and guide decision-making. The program's design should prioritize supporting the injured worker's objective of returning to work, focusing on physical function and confidence rather than solely on managing pain.

A Better Mindset

Clinicians in the workers’ comp industry have embraced the use of technology to assess and evaluate progress in recent years, as the need to stay engaged has gained traction — to the extent that the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine issued a position paper stating that the physician’s role is to keep patients with medical conditions at work or help them return to work faster through the use of assessment-based technology. 

By prioritizing alignment with the right providers, ensuring quality medical care, and regularly measuring progress using technology, this type of objective approach can provide both patient employees and providers with the data needed to make accurate decisions. This saves time and avoids unnecessary claims costs to the employer.

A Mix of New Tech and Old-School Best Practices

In many instances, technology can help establish safety for the injured worker and the employer. At DataFit, we concentrate on gathering kinetic biomechanics data for musculoskeletal injuries. We bring biomechanics-lab-grade data into any setting, which enables greater trust and certainty in the injured worker's recovery progress and their ability to return to work.

We have found that the injured worker is much more confident in their capabilities after being approved to work based on the assessment score, which allows for an earlier return to work. In some cases, the data more effectively supports the injured worker’s limitations, reducing the chance of reinjury, exacerbation, and prolonging the recovery.

Clear Return-to-Work Benefits

The benefits of returning to work for both employers and employees are evident. Research has shown that an employer using a technology-driven return-to-work program can reduce time on disability by an average of 3.6 weeks. This also applies to workers with severe injuries that could potentially be permanent, reducing the average by 12.6 weeks. For employees, having objective data gives them the confidence to return to work safely and without the worry of reinjury.

Technology is incredibly powerful and can bring about transformative changes for both employers and employees. This emphasizes the measurable benefits of a high-quality technology-driven return-to-work program, which can have a lasting impact on both the employer, and most importantly, the injured employee.