Return-to-Work Guidelines’ Importance in Managing Disability

Return-to-work guidelines help case managers and clinicians set and manage fair and consistent return-to-work expectations.

The use of return-to-work guidelines is essential to effective disability case management and overall employee health and productivity.

Every year, millions of employees develop a disabling illness or injury that requires more time to recover than sick leave provides. The Department of Labor estimates that the direct and indirect cost to employers is nearly $200 per day per absent employee and, in total, ranges from 4% and 11% of annual payroll for most companies. What’s more, research also shows that prolonged absence from work is actually detrimental to the employee’s health.

Whether you are a health care provider, employer, insurer, or TPA that manages disability cases, you need the best possible information to get employees back to work in the optimal time frame. Return-to-work guidelines provide an objective source of information on disability durations so you can benchmark your data, focus your return to work efforts, and help employees return to health and productivity.

The best return-to-work guidelines are based on statistical analysis and clinical review of millions of actual cases of disability. Quality guidelines take the guesswork out of recommended leave duration and enable employees, health care providers, case managers, and employers to get on the same page in a clear and simple way.

Learn more about how MDGuidelines provides the world’s best return-to-work guidelines.