Good Practice

Return to work: Getting back to work

The GP’s role as a primary healthcare provider means they are crucial to an injured person’s ability to return to work. According to a study from the Department of General Practice at Monash University and the Institute of Safety, Recovery and Compensation Research, 96% of injured worker claims originate in the general practice setting.

‘Everybody knows and says that the GP is the most important person in helping to facilitate this process,’ study co-author Dr Bianca Brijnath told Good Practice. ‘There is a lot of support, particularly from the compensation agencies, to make sure GPs are provided with the best, most appropriate and up-to-date evidence-based tools that they can have.’

The GP Return to Work (GP-RTW) study examined approximately 10,000 GPs and 125,000 injured workers’ compensation claims, and conducted 93 interviews with key stakeholders in the return-to-work process.

‘The reason this study was really important is because it was a world-first when it came to looking at the role and relationship between the GP and the injured worker, but also between the employer and the compensation agents,’ she explained. ‘That is critical because, when you talk about return-to-work, all of these stakeholders play an important role in that.

‘Without them, safe and timely return-to work cannot be accomplished.’