Attention to Injury
Unfortunately, some injured employees may not adhere to the prescribed follow-up procedures and/or appointments thus causing inadequate or insufficient attention to proper ongoing care. The Injury Manager should stay on top of the situation by communicating with the injured employee regularly. In some cases it is advisable for the Injury Manager to accompany the employee to the aftercare doctors visits to ensure that the employee is adhering to the proper care program. Keep in mind that (essentially) you are footing the bill for the employees care through your insurance premiums, thus necessitating your participation in getting the employee ‘healed’ and able to return to work. At these aftercare visits the Injury Manager has the right to talk with the physician to ascertain what is needed in order to assist with the recuperating process. Often, the Case Manager from the insurance carrier will also attend these appointments to keep accurate records of the entire process. Good communication is a key element in getting the employee back to work as soon as possible.
Part of the injury management process is to have a ‘light duty’ work program in place so that the injured employee can go back to work, earn a paycheck and feel productive. Additionally, the Injury Manager can oversee the remainder of the recuperation process too. Sometimes this light duty work schedule must be tailored to the individual employees’ immediate injury needs, however prior extensive studies show that getting them back to work is much more advisable than allowing the injured employee to sit around doing nothing productive. Interestingly enough, it is a proven fact that performing light duty work often accelerates the desire to return to regular work status and positively affects the recuperation process.
