How Onsite Rehab Programs Improve Worker Outcomes 

Injured workers often require mid- and long-term care to get back to work safely and restore their health. For many, that includes being prescribed occupational or physical therapy as part of their treatment plan. 

In most cases, this requires workers to travel to a rehab facility for appointments that could take place daily, especially early after an injury. This costs them valuable time in their recovery and, later when they are back to modified or near-full duties, time away from work. 

Having an onsite rehab program, with experienced occupational and physical therapists, offers your workers a wealth of benefits while helping you reduce the overall cost of treatment for work-related incidents. 

Understanding Onsite Rehab Programs 

An onsite rehab program is operated out of your existing onsite occupational health clinic. It may involve employing an occupational therapist or a physical therapist, potentially both depending on your workers’ needs. 

These professionals are on hand to work with injured workers’ prescribed treatment plans, giving them care suited to their needs. When these therapists don’t have any injured workers they’re responsible for treating, they also can evaluate your workers for nagging pains or work-related concerns to help avoid potential injuries before they can occur. 

Your onsite rehab program offers all the same services an offsite rehab program does, but with the added benefits of convenient access to your workers, deep knowledge of your work environment and the capability to help workers avoid injuries through early intervention. 

Key Benefits of Onsite Rehab Programs for Workers 

Here are some key ways an onsite rehab program can improve outcomes for your workers. 

Faster Injury Recovery 

Onsite physical and occupational therapists are dedicated to your workers; they aren’t juggling a full slate of other clients they must schedule around. This allows your workers to receive more frequent, targeted treatment as soon as possible. The faster an injured worker receives access to physical or occupational therapy, the faster they will recover from their injuries and be ready to return to their regular duties. 

Therapists’ knowledge of your workplace and the occupational conditions your workers face also helps aid in speeding up recovery. They can watch workers on the job, modifying their exercises, treatment plans and recommendations to meet any unique needs your team’s jobs may present.  

This reduces the chances that your worker will inadvertently reinjure themselves or suffer additional injuries. 

Personalized Treatment Plans 

While many offsite medical professionals try to provide an individualized treatment plan for each injured worker, it’s difficult for this to happen in every case. Doctors may not understand the worker’s day-to-day tasks — or they might not think to ask about them when building a treatment plan.  

Additionally, because of how busy traditional providers are, quickly pivoting a treatment plan when the current one isn’t working or the employee improves faster than anticipated can be a challenge.  

Having onsite occupational and physical therapists allows injured workers to truly get individualized, tailored treatment plans that are adapted as their needs change. The therapists know your working conditions and can adjust plans to accommodate specific worksite needs.  

They also have more frequent access to injured workers — up to 40 hours per week when they’re on the job — and can check in on how effective the treatment plan is. If the worker isn’t progressing, their treatment plan can be adjusted. When a worker is getting better more quickly than expected, the treatment plan also can be modified to meet their new needs. 

This gives each injured worker truly individualized care and the best chances of returning to work quickly and safely. 

Immediate Access to Care 

Onsite rehab programs are operated out of your onsite clinic. This gives your workers immediate access to care when they need it, removing the barriers of time, distance and scheduling.  

When they are injured, workers can immediately be assessed by a therapist and other medical professionals. If possible, treatment can be provided onsite, allowing your worker to begin the healing process quickly.  

Workers who aren’t injured by who have other concerns that can be assessed and managed by an onsite occupational or physical therapist can be seen anytime the professional is available. They don’t have to call to schedule an appointment, potentially waiting weeks or even months to receive care. 

Quick access to occupational and physical therapists provides your workers with immediate assessment and care, navigation to appropriate offsite professionals when necessary, getting them healthy faster. 

Injury Prevention Programs 

Not all workplace injuries are the result of accidents; some conditions develop over months or years of improper use. In many cases, these injuries start as tightness or mild pain, and could be corrected with early intervention. However, because workers without access to onsite rehab programs must find a specialist or doctor, schedule an appointment, find time off work to attend that appointment and pay for the appointment, many workers avoid getting evaluated early on. 

With onsite occupational or physical therapists, workers can visit the onsite clinic at the early signs of a potential problem. The healthcare professionals can check out the worker, conduct observation and ergonomic assessments if necessary and recommend a prevention or treatment plan to help prevent the issue from getting worse. 

This helps your workers stay healthy for longer, and helps you avoid potentially costly overuse injuries such as carpal tunnel, lower back injuries and shoulder injuries. 

Your Partner for Onsite Rehab Programs 

At Medcor, our onsite clinics are designed to fit your organization’s unique needs, with onsite physical and occupational therapists, immediate injury evaluation, medical surveillance programs and more. Give your workers convenient access to quality care while reducing your workers’ comp and healthcare costs. Speak with an advocate today.