Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #113176

Thomas M. Wickizer, PhD¹, Gary F. Franklin, MD, MPH², Robert D. Mootz, DC³, Deborah Fulton-Kehoe, MPH¹, and Terri Smith-Weller, MS¹. (1) Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Box 357660, Seattle, WA 98195-7660, 206:616-2983, tomwick@u.washington.edu, (2) Department of Environmental Health, University of Washington, Box 357660, Seattle, WA 98040, (3) Office of the Medical Director, State of Washington Department of Labor & Industries, P.O. Box 44321, Olympia, WA 98503

A major challenge for occupational health is to reduce disability and lost work time among injured workers. The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, which administers the state workers' compensation program, has sponsored a community-based quality improvement intervention, known as the Occupational Health Services (OHS) project, aimed at reducing disability and improving outcomes for injured workers. Over 300 community physicians in two pilot sites are participating in the OHS project. Since 2002 when the project began, they have treated over 10,000 injured workers. We administered a survey in 2004 to determine satisfaction among workers treated through the OHS compared to workers treated elsewhere and analyzed claims data to assess treatment outcomes. 993 (45%) workers were successfully interviewed approximately 6 months after injury, including 520 OHS patients and 473 comparison patients. The survey, which had been previously validated, included approximately 50 items asking workers to rate their care or report on different aspects of their care. There were no statistically significant differences in ratings of access to care, overall quality or care coordination. OHS patients were more likely (p < .01) to report the occurrence of communication between their physician and employer compared to patients treated by non-OHS physicians. They were also more likely (p < .01) to return to work for the same employer and to be working for pay at the time of interview. OHS patients were less likely (p < .01) to go on time loss and stay on time loss than non-OHS patients.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to

• Describe the key features of quality improvement interventions in the field of occupational health.
• Discuss the effects of the workers' compensation quality improvement initiative developed in Washington State.
• Discuss key challenges that have to be addressed in developing occupational health quality improvement interventions.

Keywords: Occupational Health Programs, Quality Improvement

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.