Macon Occupational Medicine is dedicated to a comprehensive and effective approach to management of work injuries. Not only do we provide effective and immediate care of the musculoskeletal aspects of work injury, we now have increased our effectiveness in performing Functional Capacity Evaluations.

Because of the rapid advancements made in the Rehabilitation field, Macon Occupational Medicine has adopted protocols for Functional Capacity Evaluations developed by Isernhagen Work Systems (IWS), which are internationally recognized for methods in reduction of work disability.

A Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) is a comprehensive, objective test of a person’s ability to perform work-related tasks. It gives everyone involved a concise, unbiased report on the worker’s physical ability to perform work. The IWS method is musculoskeletally oriented so both abilities and limitations of an injured worker can be evaluated as they relate to physical and functional findings.

Purpose of an FCE:

1. Educating the worker regarding their abilities and limitations to ensure safe and productive return to work.
2. Ensuring the employer is aware of the physical demands of the job and the worker’s physical capacity and limitations regarding return to work.
3. Enabling the physician to have confidence in accurate functional testing that leads to a medical release for return to work, appropriate work rehabilitation, or worker/worksite modifications.
4. Assisting the Insurance System (Carriers, TPA’s, Case Managers, Claims Administrators, Social Security Administrators, etc.) to close cases efficiently and effectively.
5. Providing attorneys, whether for the employer or employee, with objective functional testing and abilities of the client.

The IWS FCE is based on internationally accepted principles used by physical and occupational therapists for identification of abilities and limitations of an injured worker.

Advantages of an IWS FCE:

1. Emphasis on return to work physical abilities explained in clear, objective language. It focuses on ABILITIES not RESTRICTIONS.
2. The information describes the worker at the highest level of productivity based on safe use of strength and endurance evaluated by scientifically based criteria.
3. A 13-point consistency checklist will identify if consistent-reliable performance was given.
4. The information will allow you to place a client at the safest level of work, avoiding activities beyond their safe abilities but yet allowing the highest level of functioning possible.
5. Utilizes a kinesio-physical approach rather than a psychological-physical approach. The psychological-physical method allows the client to control his/her evaluation by potentially self-limiting their capacity due to discomfort or any other psychological factors that may impact their evaluation. The kinesio-physical method allows for the following:
   • maximum objective strength of an individual
   • tolerance levels of activities based on objective physical observations
   • safety precautions to ensure no injuries during the testing procedure and that the client is aware of the difference between safe and unsafe procedures
   • ability to identify sub-maximal efforts and the presence of a self-limiting individual

Communication of results:

• You may receive verbal results immediately after FCE completion if you make this known to us in advance.
• A conference can be scheduled within 2-7 days after the FCE to discuss results with all parties involved.
• Written reports will be provided within 3 business days.

We look forward to your referrals for IWS FCE. We believe you will find our method to be an extremely clear-cut evaluation of a person performing work activities. We recommend that a job description be provided along with the referral or we can perform a job analysis. This will facilitate the return to work process through use of the job-matching grid.

If you would like more information on Functional Capacity Evaluations and how they can be utilized in your work setting or assessing an injured worker’s ability to return to work, please call Leonard Bevill, Chief Executive Officer, at (478) 751-2925.