Early intervention: why it’s important to get it right (before anything else)

When talking about workplace injury prevention and treatment, before you start mining data, analysing trends, and predicting injuries, you need to ask yourself: has your workplace got the basics right?

Of course, data and analytics play a critical role in a workplace health and safety strategy, however, your data is only as good as the population seeking treatment. In other words, if only a small portion of your workers are volunteering for treatment, your data is not a true reflection of your workforce.

So – how do you create a safety culture? How can you create trust between your workers and your healthcare provider? Do you have the right processes in place? How can you maximise your investment in a workplace health and safety program?

At my recent presentation at the Workplace Health & Safety Show in Melbourne, I took a very engaged audience through what ‘early intervention’ really means, what best practice looks like, and how important it is to get it right. Here is a summary of my presentation. If any of the below resonates with you, feel free to reach out, my team are well-versed in early intervention and would be happy to chat.

Defining early intervention

We follow the national work health and safety, and workers’ compensation authority, Comcare’s definition:

Early intervention:

• does not impact on a worker’s ability to lodge a workers compensation claim and should happen whether or not an employee has made a claim for workers’ compensation

• is about acting early to minimise the impact and duration of emerging symptoms or actual injury or illness

• participation is voluntary and provides early appropriate treatment and support to employees

• allows workers to nominate their preferred treating practitioner.

Early intervention can address:

• Duration of symptoms
• Intensity of symptoms
• Onset of injury/disease
• Frequency of injury symptoms

Early intervention is not:

• A cure all
• A claims prevention strategy
• An insurance premium reduction tool
• A bucket you put people in!

We use early intervention to increase the level of resilience and capability of workers in manual handling or repetitive roles, to prevent the onset of symptoms or aggravation of underlying conditions or diseases. We also use early intervention to break the cycle of symptoms, and create realistic care plans for patients. It’s about managing each case individually, and getting the best outcome possible for the patient.

A closer look at early intervention

Past (10 years ago)

Musculoskeletal and psychological concerns were referred straight to a GP or hospital with no other care or triage. As a result, we were seeing poor patient outcomes. A common outcome was that patients became ‘medicalised’ – they entered the medical system and got stuck in a cycle of pain/medication without considering other options and with no real intention of treating the problem, rather than the symptom.

Present

Currently, my observation is that early intervention is misunderstood – there is a misconception that it belongs in the “pre-claims” space. Some businesses plan for workers compensation claims. It is accepted that claims will occur and should therefore be budgeted for, rather than prevented. There is a focus on “resolving” claims. We know that many musculoskeletal issues cannot be completely “resolved”. They need to be managed within the worker’s capacity.

Future

We have a long way to go, but with the right resources, systems and programs in place, early intervention will become part of the business strategy to manage the workforce. Managers will understand what early intervention is. Every employee will have a tailored care plan, and all staff will be at work, on full duties. Our ageing workforce will be supported – with the intention to have workers on full duties until they retire. On-site healthcare providers will understand early intervention, your business, and your people, and will be trusted advisors.

5 things you can do, today

1. Ensure your reporting is meaningful. You can’t manage what you can’t measure.
2. Get your wider team involved. Invite your supervisors to info sessions, educate on early intervention.
3. Open up your early intervention care to all employees (including non-work-related injuries)
4. Words that heal vs words that harm: use positive language and educate your employees
5. Remember, it’s all about people.