Employment Testing

Job Analysis

Post-Offer Testing for New Hires

Post Employment Testing for Existing Employees

Fit-For-Duty/Physical Abilities

Functional Capacity Evaluation

Post-Employment

Testing Existing Employees

Physical Abilities or Fit for Duty Testing:

A PAT (Physical Ability Test) or FFD (Fit for Duty) test are modified versions of an FCE which can be done immediately after an injury and as soon as the patient is medically stable. These tests are designed to identify the patient's current physical abilities, which may indicate a return to full duty or a return to transitional or modified duty.

For those employers who do post-offer testing, any injured worker can be sent for a Physical Abilities Test to determine if there are any changes in the employee's condition from the time of hire to the post-injury stage. If there are deficits, then the healthcare providers now have a clear picture of what was present before the injury and what will need treatment vs. guessing what was caused by the injury and what was pre-existing.

According to the ADA, there are triggers that allow employers to test their existing employees:

• There is reliable, objective evidence that an employee is having difficulty performing the essential functions of their job.
• A reasonable belief that an employee cannot do their job.
• Employee is returning to work after a leave.
• Employee is returning to work with a specific problem (e.g., back, shoulder, knee)
• Employee is requesting an accommodation.
• Medical providers need objective information regarding physical capacities (e.g. for Maximum Medical Improvement after an injury).
• When a wellness program identifies an employee with a potential injury risk.

Doing these tests at periodic intervals in the treatment process can provide invaluable information and direction for healthcare providers and prevent unnecessarily lengthy treatment with undefined goals.

Functional Capacity Evaluations:

A Functional Capacity Evaluation is a comprehensive test to determine the physical capacities of an individual. Testing includes documentation of consistency of effort as well as recommendations for future work ability.

When Should a FCE be Requested?

In short – AS SOON AS MEDICALLY STABLE. Many healthcare providers wait until an injured employee has reached MMI before ordering an FCE. However, the opportunity to get the injured worker back into the workplace as early and as safely as possible is missed when this is done. The ideal situation is to test them as soon as the physician states that they are medically stable and able to participate in functional testing. There are several reasons this is recommended:

• Return to transitional (or even full) duty, as early and as safely as possible
  To identify any "red flags" that would impede patient's progress and recovery early on, instead of when the worker has been out of work too long
• To identify appropriate rehab and treatment goals to promote return to work safely
• When a disability policy requires an FCE on a periodic basis to provide a report of the patient's capabilities.
• When the physician is unsure of the patient's abilities and the physical demands of their job.*

*According to the AMA Guide for Evaluation of Functional Ability, "physicians are not formally trained to define a person's occupational capabilities and therefore are unable to accurately declare a person as totally disabled for working or, conversely, capable of gainful employment."