The Referrer’s Library
Plain-English answers for the people who send the work — adjusters, nurse case managers, attorneys, physicians and employers. Short, sourced, and written to be forwarded: the concepts and timelines a work-injury case actually turns on.
“Cleared” is not “ready”
A physician’s release addresses risk — is return medically safe? A return-to-work decision also needs capacity and tolerance, and no signature answers those. The three-part framework from the AMA Guides, in plain English.
Work conditioning vs. work hardening
One is an intensive, single-discipline conditioning program. The other is multidisciplinary, built on real or simulated work, and aimed at tolerances and work behaviors as much as strength. Which fits which case — and how to tell.
Why the first 30 days decide the claim
In a 27-state WCRI study of lost-time low-back claims, therapy starting more than 30 days after injury was associated with 58% longer temporary disability than therapy started within three days. What early referral changes — and what waiting costs.
How to read a progress report
“Tolerating treatment well” tells you nothing you can act on. What a useful report answers — demonstrated ability against job demands, attendance, trajectory — and the questions to ask when it doesn’t.
The case manager’s referral checklist
What to send with the referral, what to ask at week one, and the early signals that a case is drifting — a working checklist written from the intake side of the desk.
Referral FAQ
Authorization, scheduling, coverage, records — quick answers to the questions we hear every day, in one place.
Why this library exists. The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board puts it bluntly: only about half of injured workers return to work after a six-month absence — and fewer still as the absence stretches longer. Occupational-medicine guidance says the same thing from the other direction: the first days and weeks after an injury matter most (ACOEM, 2006). These articles are about the decisions that get made — or missed — in that window.
Have a case in mind?
Send it over — a referral takes minutes — or call (888) 827-6361 and talk it through with the pros first.