Services to support your needs
A comprehensive analysis, and review of medical records, preparation of medical histories, summaries and timelines of critical events can be used to assess causation, prognosis, future surgeries or treatments, ability to return to work, and maximum medical improvement. An unbiased review and narrative summary of the medical record documentation can be used for setting reserves/cost projections, identifying comorbidities and for forwarding to independent medical providers for review and comment.
Full or Single Servies available. Multiple Injury and Catastrophic Case Mangement Specialty
Assistance with navigating the return-to-work process. Nurse case managers leverage years of experience to proactively return employees to work with or without accommodation. Because our nurse case managers understand occupational and non-occupational disability insurances and unpaid government programs such as FMLA they can navigate the system in an interactive process to quickly address return to work barriers.
Work related injuries and illnesses are subject to the States Worker’s Compensation laws which vary from state to state and have Total Temporary Disability (TTD) or Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) wage loss paid benefits while the worker is disabled from working. FMLA unpaid days are also counted for disability days as consecutive or intermittent. Worker’s compensation denied claims may be eligible for short-term, long-term, state, or other related disability benefits. Denied workers’ compensation days away, restricted, transferred or injuries/illnesses receiving medical treatment per OSHA recordkeeping rules may require entries on the OSHA log.
Short-Term and Long-Term disability are paid disability leaves. Benefits vary from employer to employer in eligibility requirements and duration of benefits. Individual employer plans if offered need to be reviewed to determine benefits. Some states also have state disability plans which may run concurrently with benefit coordinated employer plans. FMLA days are counted until exhausted.
Provides covered employees with job-protected 12 weeks of unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. This is unpaid leave and runs concurrently with other paid disability leave days, in which the paid and unpaid disability leave days are counted for the same period of time. Most employees upon return from the leave must be restored to the same job or one nearly identical to it with equivalent pay, benefits and other employment terms and conditions. Case managers assist with determining eligibility, documentation, number of days used continuous/intermittent and return to work.
Affects individuals with a qualified disability as defined by the ADA, who with or without reasonable accommodation can perform the essential functions of the employment position such that the individual holds or desires. Case managers assist with medically documenting an illness/injury as a qualified disability and then identify and document essential job functions and the ability of the individual to perform the job with or without accommodation. Case managers interact with employers regarding the ability to accommodate. Reasonable accommodation for one employer may be an undue hardship for another based on factors such as operations, number of employees, financial resources etc.
A job analysis is used to identify the demands of the specific job performed by the employee. The physical demands of a job are classified by the Department of Labor as Sedentary, Light, Medium, Heavy, and Very Heavy and are further categorized by frequency as occurring Never, Occasionally, Frequently, and constantly. When a job analysis is performed on site, the employees specific physical demand categories such as lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, standing, walking, sitting, climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, reaching etc. are evaluated for physical demands and frequency. In some cases, pictures, or a video of the employees’ workstation, with an attached job analysis, is helpful for the medical provider to better understand an employee’s actual duties and make a determination as to what an injured worker can or cannot do. For those employees with a temporary disability a job analysis can be used to identify a modified or alternative job while the employee is recovering and has not yet reached maximum improvement. A job analysis can also be used to identify employees early in the disability mangement process who are at risk of requiring ADA accommodation.
Are not the same as restrictions. Essential functions are the required job duties of a position that may be impacted by a worker’s functional abilities. Whereas restrictions are temporary or permanent functions an injured or ill work can or cannot do or have limitations such as bending, twisting, or lifting.
ADA regulations state the following should be taken into consideration when determining essential functions of a job: The employer’s judgment about which functions are essential; Job descriptions that were written before a job was posted; The amount of time spent performing the function; The consequences of not requiring the person to perform the function; The terms of a collective bargaining agreement; and The work experience of others who have had, or currently hold, the same or similar positions. There are additional considerations to be considered as well. As for instance, the assembly of a part may be an essential job function but not the gathering of parts for the assembly, which can be brought to the worker. Answering a telephone in a one-person office may be an essential job duty but may not be an essential job duty in a large office.
Are assessments of job functions to identify, analyze, and prioritize risk exposures in the workplace. Ergonomic software programs that assist with ergonomic job site evaluations and provide risk scores for frequency, force, vibration etc. are available but are not a requirement. In a proactive safety program, job sites or manufacturing lines are evaluated for repetitive tasks, especially those with force, high impact tools, vibration, tasks requiring awkward elbow, head, or neck positions, bending etc. The information collected is then used to redesign or alter workstations to proactively reduce risk and prevent injury. This can include changing workstation heights, decreasing reaching distance, overhead hanging equipment such as drills, equipment to reduce force, impact, or vibration etc. In some cases, an ergonomic work site adjustment may allow an injured worker to perform an essential job duty and return to work without accommodation. An example of an OSHA ergonomic form can be found in references.
Both hearing and respiratory surveillance programs require compliance with OSHA and NIOSH regulations. Services are available to review surveillance programs for compliance with OSHA and NIOSH regulations. Company specific respiratory and hearing surveillance policy and procedures by a CAHOC and NIOSH certified occupational health nurse are available
New or updated occupational health policies and procedures customized to meet your specific company department operations or department needs are available.
Online time can be scheduled at no charge during select times to help with locating educational resources to assist you to become a more educated health or services consumer.
*Resources and websites, including government websites, can be updated without notice and Safe Health Consulting makes no claims as to the authenticity of a referred to online reference site or information as being the most current. It is the responsibility of the user to verify visited sites and reference materials as current. Safe Health assumes no responsibility for users navigating the internet as the internet has known risks such as malware, viruses, or redirection to unwanted or unsafe sites. Users do so at their own risk. All clinical medical information obtained and all questions or concerns should be discussed with the user’s personal medical care provider. All calculated disability days should be verified with the user’s employer or disability insurance carrier as disability start dates, actual disability days, or calculation methods of disability days can vary from employer to employer. Verification of the disability count days remains the responsibility of the person requesting disability paid or unpaid benefits.
No clinical diagnosis or treatment is provided during coaching. This is not a telephonic medical site. If you have a medical emergency or need medical care, services, or treatment, please contact your medical provider, or go to the nearest emergency room.
Disability case reviews of multiple files or single files. Onsite disability reviews are available in some geographical areas.
Reviews and recommendations for improvement of occupational health organizational processes within the organization to enhance awareness, behaviors, or department performance are available in select geographic area.
Internet classes available that are tailored to meet the needs of the individual company and staff.
Programs available that support healthy lifestyle behavior changes that reduce health risks, increase productivity, and decrease disability illness days are available in select geographical areas.