When an employee suffers a workplace injury, the process of returning to work can be complex. Employers must strike a balance between recovery, maintaining productivity, and ensuring compliance with medical guidelines. Two approaches to return-to-work (RTW) programs include the Graduated Return to Work (GRTW) model and the Early Return to Work (ERTW) model. While both programs aim to ease injured employees back into their roles, they differ in structure, execution, and benefits.
What is Graduated Return to Work?
A Graduated Return to Work program is a structured, step-based approach to RTW. The program helps transition employees from their current state to full-duty work over a predetermined period.
GRTW is another tool in every company's toolbelt for employee care. The program can ease the process of getting employees back to the workplace faster. The key features of this model include:
- Clinician-Driven Process: Medical professionals craft a GRTW plan using evidence-based resources. These include the Official Disability Guidelines (ODG) and ADAAA guidelines, to determine appropriate recovery timelines per diagnosis.
- A Complete Plan for Full Duty Return: The return-to-work team develops a comprehensive plan to guide an injured workers' recovery. This plan will take them from restricted work status into their regular duties.
- Defined End Dates. The RTW representative approves plans written for a defined period, ending in a full duty release. The RTW team collaborates directly with healthcare providers (HCP) to obtain medical approval of care plans before implementing them.
- Task Identification and Advancement: A GRTW suggests restrictions and tasks tailored to the employee’s condition. Employee workload and responsibility progressively increase in alignment with recovery milestones.
- Proactive Approval and Planning: Unlike other models, GRTW does not need constant updates to the employee’s restrictions. The treating provider sets the return-to-work timeline and restrictions from the start.
Flexible Implementation Options:
One of the major benefits of GRTW is the flexibility of its implementation in the workplace. Depending on a company’s existing care options and relationships with healthcare providers, a GRTW can exist as just a written plan, or can be taken by the RTW team through all the necessary approvals and back-end tracking.
- Writing Process: A clinician drafts the plan and submits it to the employer representative. This option provides employers with an established plan, including timelines and care, to then be signed off on by a healthcare provider through company pipelines.
- Writing and HCP Approval: The plan is drafted and approved by the employer representative then it is submitted to the healthcare provider for approval. In this scenario the RTW team would work directly with a healthcare provider to gain approval and make any modifications with collaborative inputs.
- Writing, HCP Approval, and Tracking: In addition to plan writing and HCP Approval, the employee care team tracks the plan through completion, providing updates to stakeholders along the way. Virtual as well as in-person tracking, provides an added layer of engagement and support. This provides the most complete care pipeline with monitoring by RTW experts who can provide necessary modifications.
Benefits of GRTW
- Structured Recovery Timeline: Employees and employers have a clear understanding of when the worker is expected to return to full duty.
- Evidence-Based Approach: Medical guidelines ensure recovery time aligns with best practices for injury rehabilitation.
- Seamless Progression: Restrictions progress with new tasks identified. A GRTW promotes a smooth transition back to full work capacity.
- Reduced Administrative Burden: Once approved, the plan requires less input on work restrictions from the treating provider, streamlining the process for all parties.
- Optimized Workplace Productivity: By ensuring employees return to work efficiently and safely, businesses minimize lost workdays and maintain operational stability.
Briotix Health actively works with companies to find the best solution to their care obstacles. Read this case study to learn more about the how the GRTW process works in the workplace today.
What is Early Return to Work (ERTW)?
The Early Return to Work (ERTW) model differs from GRTW in that it does not follow a predetermined recovery timeline. Instead, it focuses on providing employees with modified duties based on their current restrictions, relying on ongoing medical assessments to determine progress.
Key characteristics of ERTW include:
- No Predefined End Date: Recovery and work restrictions are periodically reassessed by a doctor. This evaluation makes the process more flexible but less predictable.
- Doctor-Controlled Adjustments: The treating physician updates work restrictions as they see fit, requiring more medical oversight.
- Development of Transitional Work Assignments: Instead of a step-by-step progression, ERTW identifies immediate work tasks that fit within an employee’s limitations. Some programming options can provide access to transitional work assignments that fit within an employee’s current capabilities, while guiding them on their path to recovery and keeping them in the workplace.
- Involvement of Multiple Stakeholders: More coordination is required between doctors, insurance providers, and the employer’s benefits team.
- Medical Monitoring and Documentation: Employers must regularly collect medical updates and provide records for claims management.
Benefits of ERTW
- Encourages Early Workforce Re-entry: Employees can return to work in a limited capacity sooner, reducing downtime.
- Takes Administrative Burden Off Employers: ERTW can handle all communications with doctors and insurance providers, simplifying the process for the employer. Employers still have the option to take these communications into their own hands, but it can be fully handled by a RTW team.
- Identifies Work Opportunities: Identifies and creates opportunities for transitional roles for injured workers that may not have been previously considered.
- Flexible and Adaptive: Since there is no set timeline, the program can be adjusted based on the employee’s progress.
Are you looking for an Early Return-to-Work solution to get an employee back to work as soon as possible?
Briotix Health offers FocusLink, an ERTW solution that identifies temporary transitional employment for injured workers with non-profit organizations. With virtual, on-site, and off-site placements, FocusLink allows injured employees to keep working while they recover from an injury.
Comparing GRTW and ERTW: Which Is Best for Your Workplace?
While both models aim to facilitate employee recovery and reintegration, they cater to different workplace needs.
A GRTW can be most useful for employees with very restrictive conditions, as the plan takes them through each step to an absolute end date for recovery. A company that is experiencing issues with an employee being out of work for extended periods of time would gain the most benefit.
In contrast, the flexible nature of the ERTW lets a company address injured employees earlier in the recovery process without the need for a full plan to be established. This is ideal for a company that wants an employee back working, in some capacity, whether that be transitional work or modified duties, as soon as possible.
How the Two Programs Can Complement Each Other
Employers do not have to choose one approach over the other; GRTW and ERTW can work together to create a comprehensive return-to-work strategy. For example:
- Initial ERTW Placement: If an employee is not yet ready for a structured GRTW program, ERTW can serve as an initial step, allowing them to engage in modified work while they recover.
- Transition to GRTW: Once the employee’s condition improves, they can move into a GRTW program for a more defined pathway to full duty.
- Maximizing Employer and Employee Benefits: Combining both approaches ensures that employees have the necessary medical oversight while also benefiting from structured progression toward full work capacity.
A well-designed return-to-work program not only supports employee health but also benefits the workplace by reducing lost productivity and maintaining workforce engagement. The choice between GRTW and ERTW depends on the specific needs of the organization and the nature of employee injuries.
By leveraging a Graduated Return to Work program, employers can provide a clear, step-based recovery plan that aligns with medical best practices. At the same time, Early Return to Work programs can offer a flexible approach that enables employees to re-enter the workforce sooner, even in a limited capacity. When used in tandem, these programs create a holistic solution that prioritizes both employee well-being and business continuity.