Our Occupational Health Department offers start to finish treatment of workers compensation patients. Starting at Fit N Wise outpatient therapy we utilize OCCUPRO software to track functional progress toward full duty return to work goals. Functional Progress notes allow continual tracking of the patients progress as they transition from outpatient therapy into work conditioning/hardening keeping the physician, case manager and insurance provider up to date.
Functional Progress Note
This easy-to-read workers’ compensation approved, injury and job-specific re-evaluation replaces a traditional musculoskeletal progress note and provides the treating physician with progress related specifically to the physical demands of their client’s job.
Functional Progress Notes are performed during the course of outpatient therapy to provide the treating physician, case manager and employer with real-time return-to-work abilities. This assists the therapist in establishing return-to-work goals, treatment programs that focus on work, and functional rehabilitation tasks.
Functional Progress Notes are becoming an industry-standard while nurse case managers rely on this information to make return-to-work predictions. Benefits of these reports include:
- Performed during a normal treatment session
- Tests a client’s injury specific functional abilities related to the job’s essential functions
- Ascertains a client’s ability to return to work on modified or full duty
- Clearly documents return to work progress during outpatient rehab
- Helps to determine when and if a patient requires work conditioning/hardening
- Speaks the language the employer and case manager appreciate coming from therapy
Functional Discharge Summary
This quick workers’ compensation approved discharge summary provides the treating physician with objective functional evidence of a client’s readiness for return-to-work. These specialized reports which replace traditional musculoskeletal discharge information, outline a client’s specific functional abilities directly related to what the injured body part needs to do for full duty return-to-work.
The summary is performed at the anticipated completion of outpatient therapy and help to finalize the need for further treatment, rehabilitation cost, return-to-work or whether the client requires work conditioning.
The summary is requested by physicians to help establish end of healing and return-to-work readiness. They have a significant appeal to physicians, employers, and insurance carriers. Benefits of these reports include:
- Performed during a normal treatment session
- Tests a client’s injury-specific/job-specific return-to-work abilities
- Provides employers with their employee’s abilities upon return-to-work
- Provides Case Managers with documentation which assists in case closure
- Replaces Functional Capacity Evaluations
- Uses evidence-based research to determine if the injured worker requires a work hardening/ conditioning program
Work Hardening/Conditioning Program
The Work Hardening/Conditioning Program is designed to comprehensively rehabilitate the injured worker to a physical level that allows full duty return-to-work.
Our approach provides a solid team effort involving the treating physician, employer, and the insurance representative to return the client to productive employment in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
The program consists of:
- Highly structured, goal oriented, and individualized treatment program designed to promote a complete and cost effective recovery
- Real or work-simulated activities to restore physical, behavioral and vocational functions
- Treatment sessions designed to restore an individual’s strength, endurance, flexibility, coordination, and cardiopulmonary functions in order to return-to-work
- Three to six hour treatment sessions, five days per week, until the client reaches full duty return-to-work or maximum medical improvement
- Weekly communication with all stakeholders to assure client/patient continues to progress to full duty return-to-work and focus on never over utilizing this program