With your help we want to establish the principles that underlie best practice in Return To Work.

In the play that is any given workers' compensation incident the same actors appear. It seems to us that a successful health outcome and RTW is determined not only by the quality of the individual performances, but also their collective activity.

The principles that guide best practice in each of the following contexts are likely to be the same, but the emphasis or priority of their influence may vary.

First question: Have we got all of the fundamental principles of best practice RTW covered in this list?:

• Accommodation
• Accountability
• Agreed Outcome
• Communication
• Coordination
• Empathy
• Shared decision making
• Speed
• Trust

Second Question: The influence or priority of these principles (which we intentionally listed in alphabetical order above) will be different for each of the actors, or groups involved in Return To Work. Which group are you in and what is the priority order from your perspective? If you have the time we are also interested in what you think the other groups' priorities should be? Your comments on the importance or value of each element will also assist in fleshing out a supporting narrative.

• The Employee (sometimes in association with their Union, or shudder, a lawyer)
• The Treaters (doctors, physios, chiros, psychologist, etc)
• The RTW Coordinator (including the employee's co-workers, supervisor, safety officer and senior management, and any rehab providers involved)
• The Insurer or Agent (including medical assessors, legal advisors, administrators, policy makers and politicians)

To stimulate discussion we have suggested a priority order for claimants or employee:

• The employee:
• Speed
• Accountability
• Trust
• Empathy
• Communication
• Shared Decision Making
• Coordination

As soon as we are able to incorporate feedback into a 2nd draft we will republish it and ask for your comment again.

We're looking forward to your ideas. Please email your thoughts to admin@rtwmatters.org