Authors (including presenting author) :
So MK(1), Yu PK (1) ,Chu WY(1), Lee KY(2)
Affiliation :
(1) Occupational Therapy Department, Princess Margaret Hospital, (2) Department of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, Ha Kwai Chung General Out-Patient Clinic
Introduction :
Long sick leave (SL) due to injury on duty (IOD) is one of the burden in General Out Patient Clinic (GOPC). Since November 2015, Occupational therapy (OT) in KWC GOPC had launched an Early Return to Work (ERTW) program, with collaboration with GOPC doctors and Specialist Out Patient Clinic (SOPC) OT in Princess Margarete Hospital. It aims at facilitating the process of early return to work and reduce the attendance frequency in GOPC, through a comprehensive work rehabilitation program with prompt referral to Medical Assessment Board (MAB).
Objectives :
To review the effectiveness of ERTW program in KWC
Methodology :
A pilot ERTW program was implemented from November 2015 till present. Target cases were patients with IOD with SL extension from GOPC. Cases were recruited into ERTW program by GOPC OT after having work rehabilitation interview and assessment. Cases were then referred to have work rehabilitation program in SOPC OT. Routine follow up in GOPC ERTW clinic was arranged.
Result & Outcome :
Total 139 cases (77 males, 62 females), with mean age 45 years old, were reviewed. After completing a course of work rehabilitation program, 7% cases were directly RTW without MAB referral. 65% were referred for MAB. The enhancement of ERTW program was reflected by comparing the data between the period from 2015 to 2017 and from 2017 to 2019. As there were more GOPC doctors recognized this program, referral time to GOPC OT was shortened from 17 to 15 weeks. With the close collaboration with SOPC OT, the referral time to SOPC OT was also shortened from 5 to 3 weeks. For those cases who had prompt MAB referral, the overall sick leave period from the first attendance in GOPC to the last GOPC attendance was reduced from 11 to 9 months. After completing work rehabilitation program, the return to work rate within 6 months was increased from 48% to 57%; and within 2 years, it was increased from 53% to 60%. In overall, 49% cases with long sick leave could be return to work within 2 years after IOD.
