Type of Treatment is Primary Predictor of Return to Work

November 2, 2010 – Encinitas, CA – Work Loss Data Institute, publisher of ODG Treatment, including the Official Disability Guidelines, has completed a major study for a leading insurance carrier on predictors of disability duration. The number one predictor is type of medical treatment, and its effects far exceed others, including type of job, co morbidities, age, and severity.

The table below shows findings from the study. What it indicates is the impact, as a multiplier, for the specific RTW predictor. For example, for spinal fusion for low back pain (not recommended in ODG), return-to-work time is over 100 times as long as for exercise (recommended in ODG). For low back pain, DOL job class (sedentary, light, heavy, etc.) makes almost no difference in disability duration.

 According to Pat Whelan, Publisher of ODG and Director of Work Loss Data Institute, “This supports what we identified years ago as we drilled down into our reported data. Different return-to-work pathways evolve within the same diagnosis, depending on the type of treatment administered. Return-to-work (RTW) durations are not self-defined but directly impacted by treatment; the above study quantifies that impact. RTW guidelines must be integrated with evidence-based medical treatment guidelines (EBM) in order to be a fair, accurate and effective RTW management tool. Further, true EBM must link to and mirror today’s science. Treatment recommendations should not vary based on the preferences of different jurisdictions, political influences, or economic agendas. These two elements are what make ODG unique.” 

The 2011 release in the ODG product line will include the 16th edition of Official Disability Guidelines (Return To Work Guidelines) integrated with the 9th edition of ODG Treatment (Treatment Guidelines). Together they provide the most up to date evidence-based medical treatment and disability duration guidelines to improve as well as benchmark outcomes in workers' compensation and non-occupational disability. ODG 2011 is based on an aggregate of over 10 million cases, including CDC and OSHA, referred to as the "most direct form of evidence that can be offered in court" under the Federal Rules of Evidence, plus over 2 million medical records from actual workers’ compensation and disability claims.