Recovery at Work

Injury assessments are a routine aspect of practice for primary care clinicians. Depending on the nature of the injury and other factors, there may be minimal disruption on a patient’s daily life, including their ability to engage in work. However, in some cases, injuries can have a more significant impact on functional capacity, and consideration must be given towards work capacity and associated decisions around medical certification.

Reintegrating into the workplace is an essential component of the recovery trajectory. Recent evidence suggests many injured patients are being signed off for too long, potentially compromising long-term outcomes. In the same way that medicines must be prescribed at the right dose and for the right duration, so too must time off work.

ACC definitions for medical certification have evolved over time; of the three categories, the criteria for “Fully unfit” has undergone the most significant change. Understanding the distinctions between these categories is essential to facilitate delivery of the recovery at work model, and to guide provision of additional ACC-mediated supports such as financial/social assistance, treatment and vocational rehabilitation services.

A prompt return to, and recovery at, work should be prioritised for most patients with non-complex injuries to improve physical rehabilitation, mental health and to maintain social/vocational connections. A key point for clinicians is to focus on the physical and cognitive capacity of the patient after an injury, and identify what functions they can perform; deciding whether there are suitable work tasks to meet these functional parameters is the responsibility of the patient and their employer, with assistance from ACC if required.

For a full overview of the Recovery at Work programme, read the main article here

A convenient summary is available here

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