D2E (Direct to Employer) Partnering with local industries provides value by assessing the abilities of each worker prior to their even being hired! Prior-to-Hire Assessments allow Employers to match employees with roles in which they will be safe and productive. This part of your practice adds value for your customer, the Employer, and their Employees. It also creates direct-pay revenue and adds value for your practice, because you become an indispensable part of that company’s hiring team.

But Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCEs) extend farther than the initial hiring process. Any time a worker is injured, perform a FCE to assess their ability to return to their previous duties. FCEs after an injury provide value in important ways:

1.Your hard work, and the hard work of the patient’s doctor, won’t be compromised by a worker going back to work before they are truly ready

2. Employees feel more confident and reassured when they have been thoroughly evaluated and proclaimed ready to go back to work

3. When necessary, job duties can be modified to prevent a re-injury

4. Employers are happy because the risk of re-injury is slashed, saving them significant resources

5. The patient’s co-workers are happy because their own risk is reduced, and any modifications of work duties are clearly defined and communicated

Set up an intake system within your practice such that each time a patient is enrolled with your clinic, staff should be prepared to promote and perform a FCE as a standard part of the process. Especially in a Workers’ Comp referral, with the consent and involvement of the patient/Employee, start working with the Employer. Detailed information of the job description and maximum needs of the role can be gathered and integrated into the treatment goals. The goal is not simply to “fix” the injury, but to fully treat and assess the patient’s readiness to return to their full role at work or return to a modified role that suits both the Employee and Employer.

For those reasons, the FCE should not be viewed simply as an end stage of treatment before discharging the patient, but as an active and ongoing assessment from the first day they walk into your clinic. The FCE serves as another layer of your partnership with the Employer, and all eyes should be on that final assessment so that all members of the team are fully satisfied with the patient’s/Employee’s recovery.

For more information on making Functional Capacity Evaluations a central part of your practice strategy, contact us to learn more about the KEY Method.