What is the real cost of an injury?

After many years of listening to our clients, Life Care and the Rehab Guys have joined forces to establish Life Care Injury Management. It takes the frustration out of doctors giving medical certificates for time off work without ever communicating with the manager as to what the employee is actually able to do at work. That means your team member could be sitting at home on sick pay when they could in fact be doing other duties they are still more than capable of performing.

Here’s a real life example:

Case Study: One of your workers slips while going down the stairs. They don’t actually fall but they land heavily and twist their left ankle. It is quite sore and it swells up immediately. A workmate puts ice on it and someone takes them to their doctor. The doctor diagnoses pulled ligaments, they fill out an ACC form, refer them to a physio for treatment and advises they need to wear a moon boot for six weeks. They then ask your worker how long they would like off work. The staff member replies “Well, if I need to be in a moon boot for six weeks I must need at least that much time off.” So their doctor writes a medical certificate for six weeks. The patient goes home and rings the physio, who says they can be seen in four days’ time.

The employer is concerned, so rings the medical centre to find out the diagnosis and the treatment plan etc. The medical centre won’t tell him anything because of patient confidentiality. The employer tries to ring the worker to check on how they are doing but their phone is off so the employer is left not knowing the diagnosis, the treatment plan or a return to work programme. Or how he is going to be able to deliver the orders on time without this key person.

Life doesn’t need to be like this – enter Life Care Injury Management.

We have developed a system where all parties work together to ensure a safe and speedy diagnosis, treatment and return to work. Life Care Injury Management has a relationship with 500+ physiotherapists and occupational therapists throughout New Zealand.

The New Improved Case Study: One of your workers slips while going down the stairs. They don’t actually fall but they land heavily and twist their left ankle. It is quite sore and it swells up immediately. A workmate puts ice on it and someone notifies Life Care Injury Management. Life Care Injury Management contacts the nearest physiotherapy clinic and secures an appointment for that same afternoon. The physio diagnoses pulled ligaments, fills out an ACC form, and writes up a treatment plan with the worker, and starts the treatment that same day.

With discussion, the physio puts together a return to work programme and uploads it to the electronic platform which the employer can log into to see the diagnosis, the treatment plan and the return to work programme. The employer can now rest easy as he knows his staff member is receiving treatment, he knows what is going on and he will still be able to deliver his clients’ orders on time.

If this new improved option sounds more like the way you would like to operate please contact us and we will organise a time to visit and discuss your opportunities and savings.