Rehab Select Blog

Nurse case managers are educators and motivators who work with injured employees to help them understand their medical conditions, get the necessary treatments promptly, and navigate the complex healthcare system. 

Engaging a nurse case manager on a claim can reduce medical and indemnity costs by an average of $6,100, resulting in an 8:1 ROI. But how can you deliver the best outcomes to keep adjustors returning to use your services? 

A workers’ comp injury begins a long journey, starting with initial treatment and ideally ending with a return to work. Getting the patient to that successful outcome is a team effort, and nurse case managers play a critical role in keeping that team together. 

Cost-effectiveness is only one of the nurse case manager’s goals for treatment, but it is an important one. After all, keeping total costs down is an indicator that the patient is progressing through treatment. The faster an employee can reach MMI and return to work, the lower the costs of a workers' comp injury.  

The goal is not to rush rehabilitation at the cost of a full recovery, potentially increasing the risk of re-injury. Instead, nurse case managers and providers must design programs that restore functional capacity completely. Even so, keeping efficiency in mind benefits everyone involved. 

Nurse case managers play a critical role in optimizing work injury treatment outcomes, shortening the time it takes for a patient to return to work while lowering medical expenses. The proof is in the pudding: Many insurance companies work with nurse case managers to lower costs, improve outcomes, and increase patient satisfaction. 

Case managers help injured employees navigate the healthcare system and ensure effective coordination among the employer, insurance adjuster, and rehab care team — from assessing the injury and planning the rehab to delivering workers' comp occupational therapy and evaluating the outcomes. 

Let's look at the key characteristics of effective case management and how a nurse case manager can ensure high-quality workers' compensation rehabilitation for patients.  

Following a well-designed physical therapy protocol is critical for facilitating recovery from back surgery. Many patients find that therapy in a post-surgical inpatient program leads to the best results. Inpatient rehab allows you access to a regular physical therapy regimen under close supervision where you’ll be supported in the tasks of daily living.  

But how do you choose the right physical therapist to help you reap the most benefit from the process and improve treatment outcomes? 

Here's a checklist of questions you should ask your spinal surgery therapist and tips to get the most out of your inpatient rehab experience. 

This nursing apprentice model, the first of its kind in the nation, eliminates barriers to students who wish to practice nursing and helps healthcare providers safely fill critical staffing shortages.

After spinal surgery, you'd want to heal as quickly as possible and resume normal activities. Post-op physical therapy (PT) is critical in this recovery process to help you minimize complications, shorten recovery time, and optimize treatment outcomes. 

Your back surgery recovery depends on many things, from your overall health to the degree of symptoms you had before surgery to the type of procedure you had done.  

While you may have activity restrictions in the timeframe immediately following surgery, eventually your physician will want to get you moving again. In many cases, your surgeon may refer you to an inpatient rehab program after your surgery so that your activity can be supervised and safely guided by professional therapists. 

Here, we’ll examine the recovery stages for some common spinal surgery procedures and provide tips for getting the most out of your recovery. 

Michel Roccati’s spinal cord was severed in a motorbike accident in 2017, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. However, after doctors attached electrodes to his spine, Michel became the first ever full spinal cord lesion patient to start walking again. 

The technology that helped Michel is still being tested and not yet available on the market. But it wasn’t just the implant that got him back on his feet. His success resulted from his own determination, his positive outlook, and the rehabilitation therapy provided by his care team. 

And if you’ve had spinal surgery, that same determination, positive outlook, and rehabilitation therapy are also your best bet for a successful recovery. 

Spinal surgery is a major procedure, and proper back surgery recovery is essential for accelerating healing and minimizing complications. Physical therapy should be an integral component to help you reap the most benefits of the treatment, even if you have a minimally invasive procedure.