Who develops the suitable duties program (SDP)?
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 sometimes the SDP may need a detailed task analysis of the
worker's normal duties and those available for the graduated return
to normal duties through one or even a series of SDPs. You may
need to 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.
Rehabilitation professionals can help with:
- tasks and their physiological demands
- the underlying injury mechanism
- the underlying pathology of the injury
- the implications for the worker's rehabilitation.
SDPs need to be monitored
SDPs often need changes during the program depending on the
circumstances of the individual, their specific injury and their
rate of recovery. You may need the knowledge and expertise of a
rehabilitation professional to adjust the SDP for serious injuries
based on this monitoring.