Recently, we asked Annette Williams (former National President of the Australian Rehabilitation Providers Association), Rosemary McKenzie-Ferguson (founder of the Work Injured Resource Connection), Pam Garton (Managing Director of Abilita Services Pty Ltd) and Occupational Physician Dr Mary Wyatt to spill the beans about the role of rehabilitation providers in return to work.

Who are rehabilitation providers and what do they do?

Rehabilitation providers, Ms Williams told us, are multi-disciplinary organisations employing a range of professionals from different health disciplines, including occupational therapy, psychology, rehabilitation counselling, social work, physiotherapy and, exercise physiology.

“We’re basically a multidisciplinary service that liaises with the worker and their employer as well as their insurer,” Ms Williams said. “We consider the nature of injury and associated issues but our real role is to identify barriers to return to work and look at the most appropriate strategies to address them.”

“Appropriate strategies” include giving front line managers the information and support they need to help workers get back to work safely, translating medical restrictions and recommendations into suitable work options, and developing personalised return to work plans with the worker and their employer.   

When should employers engage a rehabilitation provider?

“Employers should engage a rehabilitation provider when they don’t feel they have the ability, competency or resources to facilitate a return to work on their own,” Ms Williams said. “Rehabilitation providers can help in situations where the employer has concerns about their ability to effectively—or objectively—manage the process.”

Ms Williams told us that it may be wise to consider using a rehabilitation provider when:

• The injury or illness is:
  • Recurrent;
  • Severe;
  • Chronic; and/or
  • Psychological;
• There is a history of workplace conflict or other issues in the workplace;
• The worker is dealing with other difficulties, on top of their injury or illness;
• The workplace culture isn’t conducive to return to work; and/or
• The worker is back at work, however, upgrading of duties/hours has stalled.

Dr Wyatt thinks that employers should listen to their instincts. “If you feel you’ve lost control of a situation and can’t get it back yourself, rehab providers can get things back on track,” she said.

However, both Ms Williams and Ms Garton emphasise that you shouldn’t wait for things to get out of control before acting.

Ms Garton says that, in general, if an employee hasn’t returned to full duties within two weeks of injury, they are at risk of having their recovery delayed by “modifiable psychosocial factors such as fears, beliefs and perceptions.”

Since “time away from the workplace can actually result in other issues becoming a problem,” Ms Williams says that when expert advice points to time off work beyond a few weeks, employers should consider referring the worker to a rehabilitation provider. “There is a substantial amount of evidence that indicates that delay to rehabilitation has significant impact on the success of return to work.”

How can employers get the most out of a rehab provider?

Ms McKenzie Ferguson believes that the way to get the most out of a rehabilitation provider is to develop a relationship with them, “so that the rehab company can learn what the employer actually does, and also learn the culture of the industry”.

Dr Mary Wyatt agrees that developing a relationship with various rehab providers is useful, as this helps you choose the most suitable provider for the case at hand.

“Some will be good communicators, some will be really good at engaging and motivating workers, other will provide clear and concise workplace reports. You can match your requirements to their skills for best results,” Dr Wyatt said.

Ms Williams recommends:

• Engaging a rehabilitation provider early in the process;
• Working collaboratively with the provider;
• Communicating clearly and openly;
• Coming to an understanding about:
  • What the supervisor will do;
  • What resources the employer will make available;
  • How return to work will be monitored and reviewed; and
  • Suitable channels of communication.

Large employers should consider signing onto a formalised service level agreement with the rehabilitation provider(s) of their choice.

“Service level agreements are a good way of making sure everyone is on the same page about who is doing what and how we’ll work together to get to the agreed outcome,” Ms Williams said. “If the process breaks down, you refer back to the service level agreement, which may need to be adjusted, or simply restated: this is what we’ve agreed to.”