What is Disability Management? Disability Management is a widely used term to describe services that might be provided in respect of an employee who is ill or injured and unable to fulfill their current responsibilities at work. Historically these services have been provided by Workers Compensation and by insurance companies and are often referred to as case management.

 

Insurance company staff members manage cases while disability management specialists can help manage the disability – the cause of the employee being away from work. By intervening early and often, establishing a trusted advisory relationship and bringing the Employer’s interest to the front, disability management services can help bring disabled employees back to work sooner and keep disability costs and insurance premiums in check. Intervention can be as simple as making sure an employee with a more serious illness gets to their doctor or a clinic and gets the treatment or medication they need to get better. Or, it can be as complicated as working out a funding agreement with an insurer at risk and/or the employer to advance an MRI or other means of diagnosing, assessing or treating a condition so that the employee can return to work sooner.

 

The term non-occupational disability refers to an illness or to any injury that occurred away from work where wage replacement and rehabilitative services are the responsibility of an insurance company. The term occupational disability refers to an injury that occurred in the performance of work or work-related duties where wage replacement and rehabilitative services are the responsibility of a Workers Compensation Board. Services for both non-occupational and occupational disabilities can be provided by disability management specialists.