Effective prevention and management of injury, illness or a health condition is the result of the coordinated efforts of a multi-disciplinary team and the promotion of partnerships.
An effective multi-disciplinary team will involve such actors as health-care professionals and providers, rehabilitation professionals and suppliers of assistive devices, and community resources such as government programmes and those operated by special interest groups which offer information, education, counselling and support.
A coordinated, multi-disciplinary approach will help ensure a return-to-work process that is focused, streamlined, cost efficient and effective for the person concerned.
Guideline code
RTW_03300
Mechanism
Mechanism
- The return-to-work professional should work with all relevant professionals to ensure that assessments are focused on the strengths and needs of the person concerned rather than on deficits, and that assessments are fit for purpose in terms of determining the types of services required.
- The return-to-work professional should establish and continuously update a network of qualified medical professionals and other service providers based on the services required, and a set of criteria that ensures they are appropriately qualified to deliver quality services on an uninterrupted basis to the person concerned.
- The return-to-work professional should set up guidelines for referral to service providers in which the basis for referral is the need(s) of the person concerned.
- The return-to-work professional should establish an evaluation tool for assessing the effectiveness of service providers and their services.
- The management should ensure that internal and external service providers are knowledgeable about and use government programmes and other incentives to negotiate with potential new employers a job placement for the person returning to work.
Structure
Structure
- The management should form alliances and partnerships with professional groups both inside and outside the institution to form a multi-disciplinary team in support of its return-to-work programme.
- The management should work with internal and/or external training and education experts to develop continuing professional development programmes targeted at health care (including family doctors where relevant), to raise awareness of the importance of addressing return-to-work issues at an early stage and provide partners with the knowledge to advise and intervene appropriately.
- The management should adopt a multi-disciplinary approach to delivery of return-to-work services to provide a coordinated continuum of services in which the needs of the person concerned determine the types of service providers required.
- The management should form partnerships with both internal and external service providers, ensuring their roles and responsibilities are documented and understood, to facilitate seamless, uninterrupted care to the person concerned.
- The management should ensure that return-to-work issues and concerns are adequately addressed at an early stage, including during inpatient and outpatient medical treatment and interventions.
- The management should establish a policy on service providers which focuses on the needs of the person concerned and addresses factors such as the establishment of a single point of access to return-to-work information for the employer and person concerned, recruitment and qualification of professionals, quality of services and evaluation.
- The management should assign the coordination of service providers and their services to the return-to-work professional.
Title HTML
Guideline 24. Working with health-care professionals and service providers
Type
Guideline_1
Weight
37