Suitable duties update

Suitable duties program insurer guidelines

Guidelines are now available for insurers on developing and monitoring suitable duties programs.

In our last issue we discussed how we had been asked to develop guidelines for when a rehabilitation and return to work coordinator or an insurer should consider referral to a trained rehabilitation professional to prepare a suitable duties plan.

All insurers have been sent the guidelines and they will also be available on our website.

We've included the guidelines below for your reference.

Developing and monitoring suitable duties programs

Workplace rehabilitation in a workers' compensation system focuses on returning the worker to safe, suitable work at the earliest possible time. This ensures valuable work skills are not lost and minimises the human and financial costs of work injury.

In Queensland, the return to work plan is called a suitable duties program (SDP). The SDP is more than a list of duties that fall within the doctor's guidelines of what a person can or cannot do-it's a crucial part of the return to work process for many people. The SDP helps the injured worker return to work safely and recondition-physically and emotionally-for work.

A rehabilitation and return to work coordinator, employer and/or insurer may develop the SDP for straightforward cases (e.g. minor sprains or strains), but we recommend you use a rehabilitation professional to help with serious work-related injuries, particularly if you feel you don't have enough information to manage the worker's return to work.

Points to consider when thinking of using a rehabilitation professional to develop and monitor a SDP?

The SDP often requires a detailed task analysis of the normal duties and those available for the graduated return to normal duties through one or a series of SDPs. Rehabilitation professionals have tertiary training that enables them to understand:

the tasks and their physiological demands
the underlying injury mechanism
the underlying pathology of the injury
the implications for the worker's rehabilitation.
Monitoring of suitable duties programs

SDP's often require modification over the course of the program depending upon the unique circumstances of the individual, their specific injury and their rate of recovery.

Appropriate adjustment to the SDP based on this monitoring for serious injuries may require the knowledge and expertise of a rehabilitation professional to ensure the effectiveness of the SDP is maximised for the worker. For more details, contact us on 1300 361 235 or rehab@qcomp.com.au.