Getting the patient back to work

  • Industry consultations on modifications to make the work space safer
  • Providing research based to make modifications at the workplace reduce cost for the employers and keeping the worker injury free.

Occupational Therapist as a Occupational Health Service Provider [Industrial OT]OHS is a large suite of services focused on the health & safety of the workers, overseen by the Safety Officer in the work place. Some of these specialist services are beyond the scope of the Safety Officer and are best delivered by Allied Health Practitioners such as Occupational or Physio Therapists due to their medical background.The recent advances and extension in these professions now demand a more specific definition of these roles whilst an overlap with other professions is underway. Therapists with their core clinical and activity analysis knowledge qualify to contribute to this field.

These medical OHS services could be broadly classified into
1. Injury Management and
2. Injury Prevention.

Contents:

Injury Management services include

  • Job Analysis or Worksite Assessment,
  • Functional Capacity Assessment,
  • Home assessments (ADL) to assist with independence and/or
  • Developing a graduated return to work schedule following an injury or ailment.

Injury Prevention services include:

  • Training in manual handling,
  • Pre-employment screenings,
  • Assessing fitness for work after a personal injury,
  • Ergonomic Audits for health hazards – musculoskeletal.

The Functional Capacity Assessment tools used in other developed countries like USA or Australia can now be assimilated in India along with other clinical tools for:

  • gauging and monitoring short and long term functional incapacity
  • as a measure of job entry by job matching.

Job Analysis and Work site assessments are services equipped with
Ergonomics,
Anthropometrics,
Bio-mechanics
Bio- Psycho- Social model

FCA Role in Modern India:

  • A comprehensive FCA will focus on the functional losses and translate them as economic loss
  • Insurance companies will also be interested to estimate their clients losses including the Income protection components.
  • This will also have implications on MVA, Civil and Workers compensation claims determinations.
  • Termination of employment after one is found unsuitable to work due to functional limitations
  • compensation via such estimates should entice prudent Legal practitioners
  • The Workers Union will also be interested to protect their members right for compensation for a functional loss determined by an FCA.

“Fitness for work” is another service which matches the worker to his/ her job contrary medical specialists who will have limitations in presenting their case to the courts based on clinical measures. An opinion based on objective measures by a specialist OT will outweigh the subjective opinion of a Medical specialist given the nature of these professions.

Discussions:

Normative data of the local population must be collated for validity and reliability of such assessments prior to predicting capabilities for job matching.Local OT schools can participate in this data collection and simultaneously educate the local industries on the benefits of such services.
OT student placements in these industries to practice and perfect this skills will also reinforce the benefits to the local employers in improving their productivity.

Future Planning:

Industrially (OHS) trained OT’s can be directly employed or can practice as independent consultants to all industries to manage and prevent injuries.

A comprehensive training and engagement of interested therapists through semi-formal certification is now underway. Accredited trainers overseeing the trained therapists periodically will ensure a credible service is introduced and monitored.

Professions embracing this change and equipping themselves with these tools are likely to benefit the most in these changing economic times.

It is a paradigm shift where professions will redefine their objectives and re-position themselves through their acquired new skills without shifting from the core body of OT knowledge. The scope is breathtaking if the smart therapist invests in this “advancement”.

AIOTA has decided to train and launch this “advancement” and has partnered with an Australian OT firm having over 35 years expertise. Licenses will be issued to ensure compliance and conduct of the individual practitioners on a periodic basis.

Proposal:

A 4 day office and industrial ergonomic certification along with introduction to OHS products like job analysis and FCA workshop will be on offer. Resources and support to enter the OHS field will be encouraged during this course to facilitate independence in private practice.

Dates for commencement will be advertised soon with a tentative start of around onwards at all major city centers pan India. Course fees will be declared based on expression of interests. Due to significant hands on course intensity webinar involvement is restricted and limited seats are envisaged to ensure quality learning.

For more information please contact Nandu Nandoskar

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