By Mary
Hughes Power, Director Client Services, Workers Compensation Board
of Prince Edward Island
The Workers Compensation Board of Prince Edward
Island’s Corporate Strategic Plan 2007-2012 builds on previous
successes, identifies challenges for the future and demonstrates the
Workers Compensation Board’s commitment to measurable results.
This
article will provide a summary of the work that has been undertaken
to achieve the goals set out in one of the five strategic themes identified
in this Corporate Strategic Plan: Improving Worker Outcomes.
The
Workers Compensation Board of Prince Edward Island is committed to
effective case management for all injury types. However, it is
identified that over fifty percent of all claims filed with the
Workers Compensation Board of Prince Edward Island are the result of
soft tissue injuries. A review of claims data reveals that the
largest claim type is soft tissue injury to the low back followed
closely by soft tissue injury to the shoulder.
In
response to this finding, a focused approach to improve outcomes for
those workers who incur soft tissue injuries has been implemented.
In Year One of the Strategic plan, the strategy that has been
implemented to promote safe and timely return to work for workers
with soft tissue injury to the low back is the development of a
Critical Path for Soft Tissue Injury: Low Back. The Critical Path
incorporates information from the Workers Compensation Board’s
Disability Duration Guidelines and identifies critical points
throughout the duration of a claim based upon these guidelines.
The
Critical Path was developed in consultation with the Workers
Compensation Board health care providers and outlines roles,
responsibilities and goals for all individuals involved in the
return to work process, including the worker, employer, physician,
chiropractor, physiotherapist, occupational therapist and the
Workers Compensation Board case worker.
The
Critical Path emphasizes the importance of establishing with each
worker, an expectation that return to work is the ultimate goal.
Each health care professional is encouraged to provide positive and
realistic comments as to the degree and extent of a worker’s
injury, the treatment required, and the anticipated outcome. The
health care provider is expected to convey a positive message which
positively impacts on the worker’s recovery by reducing lost time
from work and promoting a timely and safe return to the workplace.
The Critical Path also takes into account current research and
evidence-based guidelines which identify factors which may influence
claim duration such as:
The
Board’s Corporate Strategic Plan 2007-2012 for Year Two further
builds on this work and outlines the process for the development of
a Critical Path that identifies critical points throughout the
duration of a claim (adjudication, transfer to case management, and
return to work planning) for soft tissue shoulder injuries.
In summary, the goal for implementation of the
Critical Path(s) is to improve worker outcomes by focusing on the
key result area of improving outcomes for workers with soft tissue
injuries and to achieve timely interventions that promote maximum
functional recovery and expedite timely return to work for each
worker.
The Critical Path for Soft Tissue Injury: Low
Back is available on the Workers Compensation Board of Prince Edward
Island website at www.wcb.pe.ca
Contact:
Mary Hughes Power
Director Client Services
Workers Compensation Board of
Prince Edward Island
Telephone: (902) 368-5687
E-mail: mhpower@wcb.pe.ca
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