Disability Management - What's it all about?
Disability management is operationally defined as a proactive process of minimizing the impact of an impairment (resulting from injury, illness, or disease) on an individual's capacity to participate competitively in the work environment.
- It is a proactive (not passive or reactive) process.
- It is a process that enables disability management professionals to work with worksite representatives and management to assume joint responsibility as proactive decision-makers, planners and coordinators of early interventions and services.
- It promotes disability prevention strategies, rehabilitation treatment interventions and safe return-to-work programs designed to control the personal and economic costs of workplace injury and disability.
Disability management professionals are involved in the selection, utilization and evaluation of services and interventions to minimize the impact and cost of disability to employers and employees. Disability management professionals encourage return-to-work for employees with disabilities by successfully managing the consequences of illness, injury, and chronic disease in the work force. This requires:
- Knowledge of the types of injuries and illnesses that occur and how impairments and functional limitations impact on work performance.
- Timely response to injury or illness, in order to facilitate worksite accommodations and safe return to work.
- Clear administrative policies, procedures and guidelines to guide the return-to-work process within the context of labor and management agreements and human resource management.
- Effective coordination of health care and rehabilitation services by qualified and experienced disability management coordinators.
Disability management in the workplace and return-to-work coordination is a complex process. It is too important to leave to chance.
