Study of the Rehabilitation Process of Injured Workers

In 1982, amendments to the Michigan Worker’s Disability Compensation Act mandated a substantial increase in the maximum weekly benefit rate to injured workers (from the 1981 maximum of $210 per week to $307 per week). This rate increase became a focus for cost containment by many state employers. One such employer, Motor Wheel Corporation-Lansing Plant, decided to utilize external rehabilitation consultants to facilitate a higher return to work rate of injured workers to lessen compensation expenditures. This article describes the development and preliminary evaluation of the rehabilitation process within Motor Wheel-Lansing Plant.

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Creating Successful Rehabilitation Partnerships Between Health Professionals and Employers

International Journal of Disability Management ◽

10.1375/jdmr.1.1.10 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 10-20 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Heidi Muenchberger ◽

Elizabeth Kendall ◽

Eileen Mills

Keyword(s):

Health Professionals ◽

Injured Workers ◽

Multiple Stakeholders ◽

Rehabilitation Process ◽

Rehabilitation Outcomes ◽

Semistructured Interviews ◽

Successful Rehabilitation ◽

Rehabilitation Personnel ◽

Contact Personnel

AbstractSuccessful rehabilitation outcomes rest on the quality of the links among multiple stakeholders. However, the literature has increasingly recognised the challenges in creating effective partnerships between stakeholders such as external health professionals, employers and injured workers. This study presents findings from an industry-directed project aimed at investigating the links between external health professionals and the employer in relation to return-to-work rehabilitation. Semistructured interviews were conducted with general practitioners (GPs), psychologists, and organisation-based rehabilitation personnel. Findings indicated several major points of consideration to facilitate health professional and employer partnerships, including educating stakeholders about organisational rehabilitation services and key contact personnel within the organisation, establishing standard communication protocols, understanding organisational culture and providing explicit organisational support for the rehabilitation process. To ensure appropriate and timely outcomes for injured workers, the current findings highlight the proactive and educative role that employers must assume when acting in partnership for rehabilitation.

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Sentence-Based Experience Logging in New Hearing Aid Users

American Journal of Audiology ◽

10.1044/2020_aja-19-00077 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (3S) ◽

pp. 631-637

Author(s):

Katja Lund ◽

Rodrigo Ordoñez ◽

Jens Bo Nielsen ◽

Dorte Hammershøi

Keyword(s):

Hearing Aid ◽

Patient Experiences ◽

Online Tool ◽

Rehabilitation Process ◽

Hearing Rehabilitation ◽

Clinical Observations ◽

Hearing Aid Use ◽

Wide Range ◽

Insight Into ◽

Shed Light

Purpose The aim of this study was to develop a tool to gain insight into the daily experiences of new hearing aid users and to shed light on aspects of aided performance that may not be unveiled through standard questionnaires. Method The tool is developed based on clinical observations, patient experiences, expert involvement, and existing validated hearing rehabilitation questionnaires. Results An online tool for collecting data related to hearing aid use was developed. The tool is based on 453 prefabricated sentences representing experiences within 13 categories related to hearing aid use. Conclusions The tool has the potential to reflect a wide range of individual experiences with hearing aid use, including auditory and nonauditory aspects. These experiences may hold important knowledge for both the patient and the professional in the hearing rehabilitation process.

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Impairment Questions and Answers

Guides Newsletter ◽

10.1001/amaguidesnewsletters.1997.marapr03 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 4-5

Keyword(s):

Insurance Industry ◽

Organized Labor ◽

Injured Workers ◽

Disability Benefits ◽

Uniform System ◽

Questions And Answers

Abstract Controversy attends use of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides) in defining injured workers’ permanent partial disability benefits: States desire an efficient, nonsubjective way to determine benefits for nonscheduled injuries and are using the AMA Guides to define the extent of disability. Organized labor is concerned that use of the AMA Guides, particularly with modifications, does not yield a fair analysis of an injured worker's disability. From its first issue, The Guides Newsletter emphatically emphasized and clearly stated that impairment percentages derived according to AMA Guides criteria should not be used to make direct financial awards or direct estimates of disability. The insurance industry and organized labor differ about the use of the AMA Guides in defining permanent partial disability (PPD). Insurers support use of the AMA Guides because they seek a uniform system that minimizes subjectivity in determining benefits. Organized labor is particularly concerned about the lack of fairness of directly equating impairment and disability, and if the rating plays a role in defining disability, additional issues also must be considered. More states are likely to use the AMA Guides with incorporation of additional features such as an index to PPD.

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