Return-to-Work

Transitional Work Reduces Disability Time

An aggressive approach to early return-to-work, even in non-occupational injury cases, can reduce average disability duration by almost 20 percent, according to research by Irving, California-based CORE Inc., which provides employee absence management services.

"Early return-to-work programs traditionally have not been a focus in the non-occupational areas of disability management, but the results of our research show they should be," a CORE spokeswoman said.

CORE said the two main elements of early return-to-work studied were modified duty ( the temporary modification of the employee's work environment or job requirements) and part-time duty.

Unfortunately, many employers are just beginning to implement early return-to-work programs for occupational injuries. Such programs for non-occupational injuries have been even slower to develop because of differences in how the workers' compensation and general health care systems operate.