Work - Injury Management Co-ordinator Presentation - WorkCover ...

Injury Management CoordinatorForumBrad Parker – Assistant Director

Disclaimer• The information ("Information") prepared for this presentation has beenprepared and supplied in good faith on behalf of the Crown in Right ofTasmania ("the Crown") by the Department of Justice and WorkCoverTasmania ("the Board").• Although all due care and attention has been taken in preparing andcollating the information neither the Crown nor the Board gives awarranty either express or implied as to the accuracy or completeness ofthe Information or its relevance to any particular circumstances.• The Information may change or be varied due to facts or requirements ofdifferent areas of government or policy issues in existance but notknown or apparent to those preparing or collating the Information.• The Crown and the Board and their relevant employees and agentsaccept no liability (whether by reason of negligence or otherwise) to anyperson for any damage or loss whatsoever or howsoever arising orsuffered as a consequence of the use or reliance on the Information oradvice given on this website which is used or relied on at that person'sown risk absolutely.

What we will cover today• Health Benefits of Work• Share results from survey• RTW & IM plans• Monitoring progress• Questions

Consequences of Being Off Work• Health Risk = smoking 10packs of cigarettes per dayBeing out ofwork forextendedperiods of time isbad for aperson’s health• Suicide in young men > 6months out of workincreased x 40• Suicide rate in generalincreased x 6 in longer-termworklessness• Health risk and lifeexpectancy greater thanmany “killer diseases”• Greater risk than mostdangerous jobs

Benefits of Work•Earlier this year the Australasian Faculty of Occupationaland Environmental Medicine released its Australian andNew Zealand Consensus Statement on the Health Benefitsof Work.•Some of the Consensus Statement’s fundamental principlesare:• work is generally good for health and wellbeing• long-term work absence have a negative impacton health and wellbeing• attempting to return to work after injury or illnessface a complex situation• good outcomes are more likely when peopleunderstand the health benefits of work, and areempowered to take responsibility for their ownsituationWorkCover hassigned up as asupporter of theConsensusStatement and itsrecommendations

Consequences of Being Off Work10.90.80.70.60.50.40.30.20.100 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400Days (t)Figure 1. Likelihood of return to work after various length of time off workThe longer someone spends away from work, theless likely they will ever return

Psychological and Social Impactson the WorkerPsychosocial{impacts ofwork absence• Depression• Erosion of skills• Decreased income andsocial status• Loss of social supportnetworks• Decreased confidence• Decreased sense of selfefficacy

IMC Survey• Survey aimed to assist WorkCover to gainan understanding of:• how the role of the IMC has been introduced• the effectiveness of IMC training• whether IMC legislative functions align with what isactually done• the challenges faced by IMCs• how the role has influenced return to work outcomes forinjured workers• A total of 18 responses were received

IMC Survey

IMC Survey

IMC Survey

IMC Survey

IMC Survey

IMC Survey

IMC Survey

IMC Survey

IMC Survey

IMC Survey

IMC SurveyQ. Which of these tasks do you perform?Percentage of time spent undertaking tasks2520151050Managing return tow ork/injurymanagement plansContacting,meeting andcommunicatingwith key partiesAppointing andoverseeingworkplacerehabilitationprovidersCollating andmaintaininginformation anddocumentationReview ing casefilesResolving potentialdisputesOverseeing someor all functionsUndertaking otherdutiesTasks

RTW Plans & IM Plans• Survey suggests that the majority of time isspent managing plans• Last forum feedback was sought on RTWPlans and IM Plans discussion paper whichaimed to establish an agreed understanding ofhow plans are to be applied• Feedback received was minimal

RTW Plans & IM PlansIM Plan – Moderate to high severityInjury SeverityINJURYOCCURSInjury Management PlanTreatmentRecovery LineRehabilitationPsychosocial FactorsLevel of Employer InvolvementReturn to Work PlanReturn to Work• Treatment – largeRehabilitation – moderateReturn to work - small• Employer involvement initially smallbut increases with time• Doctor involvement initially large butdecreases with timeRTW Plan – Low severity• Treatment – smallRehabilitation - moderateReturn to work - large• Employer involvement large andincreases with time• Doctor involvement small anddecreases with timeLevel of Doctor Involvement

RTW Plans & IM Plans• Currently developing a RTW Plan and IM Planguideline based on discussion paper• The issue of signing plans will be addressed inthis guideline..….while legislation requires injured workers andemployers to consent to plans, this consent may bewritten or verbal (provided that verbal consent isnoted in the injured worker’s RTW Plan or IM Plan)

IMC Survey

New Project – Building Work CapacityNeed identified• Clayton report –‘WorkCover to investigate appropriate arrangements for providing support forinjured workers who have some work capacity, including appropriate, targetedskill enhancement, training and retraining, as well as the introduction of analternate employer incentive scheme’• This need was also identified in the Return to Work and InjuryManagement Model and was underpinned in legislation• Section 143F Work Capacity of injured workers to be regularly reviewedProject Goal• To identify a range of initiatives that will assist injured workers to return towork where they are unable to return to their pre-injury duties

IMC Survey

IMC Survey

IMC Survey

Medical Practitioner ActivitiesNew Medical Certificate Guidelines• All accredited medical practitioners received a copy of the newguideline last month• Where medical practitioners are not completing certificatescorrectly you are encouraged to write to them and refer to theappropriate section of the guidelinesDevelopment of a medical practitioner handbook• This handbook will set out WorkCover’s expectations whenmanaging workers compensation cases• Will have a “how to” flavour to assist medical practitioners byanswering many of those difficult workers compensationquestions• Feedback on proposed content can be provided via WorkCover’swebsite

IMC Survey

IMC Survey

IMC Survey

Has the Role Improved RTWOutcomes?The jury is still outReasons for……• Insurers more proactive• Beneficial to have a single person injury from start tofinish• More accountability on all parties• Improved communication• Early intervention to all injuries• Increased confidence between injured worker and• Consistent RTW processes

Has the Role Improved RTWOutcomes?Reasons against……• Overly complicated sound RTW processes• Just added an extra layer of work within the sameprocesses• Within self insured industry very little change to wayoperate• Has caused confusion amongst parties• Case managers and rehabilitation provider continue todrive process• Role should be independent of employer and insurer• Roles should be incorporated into all casemanagement roles• Role has not been in place long enough to see results

So how are we travelling?RTW MonitorThe RTW Monitor is a national survey ofinjured workers who have had ten days ormore compensationInterviews are conducted seven to ninemonths after a claim has been lodged

How are we going?Are there any signs to indicate we are onthe right track…

Survey - Feedback• Incorrect completion of medical certificates• IMC Forums beneficial and should continue

Questions?

Thank you for your participationBrad Parker – Assistant Director