Creative case management, US style, was the theme of a talk by Professor
Barbara Burgel, clinical professor and adult nurse practitioner, University of
California.
The components of a case management system are care, co-ordination and
communication, she said, with the goal being a "timely return to work
using the workplace as a part of the rehabilitation process".
The key challenges for occupational health, she said, were determining who
can return to work after an injury, who cannot physically work but wants to,
and those who can work but don’t want to, the latter "strangle
factor" being all too familiar to those working in occupational health on
either side of the Atlantic.
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During the presentation, Barbara Burgel reviewed the primary, secondary and
tertiary strategies used in the process. She cited some interesting "red
flags for delayed recovery", and gave an example of an injured worker
whose insurance policy covered his mortgage disability plan.
A case study from Burgel’s work with immigrant workers was used to
illustrate the application of case management strategies.
