Introduction: The Emergency Department is often the first point of care for injured employees (EE) who typically require work restrictions upon discharge. Although Occupational Medicine providers (OMP) are adept at managing restrictions, follow up with non-OMP may occur risking sub optimal disability management.
Methods: The ability to place referrals to the Occupational Medicine Department (OMD) in the electronic medical record system (EMRS) began in July 2010. Residents and staff from both departments met in March 2011 to discuss the patient discharge and referral process. An OMD generated work restriction form was implemented into the emergency department (ED) discharge process in July 2011. Residents and staff from OMD educated ED residents and staff about referring to OMD in September 2011. Data were collected from consultations placed to OMD from the ED through the EMRS from July 2010 to December 2011. Data were analyzed for the number of increased referrals.
Results: The total number of referrals from July 2010 to December 2011was 319. The number of referrals for the first two months were excluded due to being an introductory period of OMD referral implementation. The mean referral per month was 19.6 (SE=1.96, minimum=10 and maximum=33). The mean number of referrals in the final four months of 2010 and 2011 were 19 and 27.5 respectively. A positive trend was identified. Linear regression revealed a slope of 0.88, SE = 0.345, R square = 0.316, p=0.023.
Conclusion: The goal for increasing collaboration from the ED to the OMD was achieved through a teamwork effort to increase the number of referrals. Therefore, EE are more effectively managed for disability. An increase in the variety of injuries was also noted, thus creating the benefit of improving the quality of education for the Occupational Medicine residents.