Beyond Worker’s Comp Return-to-Work Data

In a group of non-workers’ compensation patients, what are the factors that impact someone’s ability to return to work after cervical spine surgery?

Using a prospective, web-based registry, researchers from Vanderbilt University and Mayo Clinic have examined 324 adult patients who underwent elective surgery for cervical degenerative disease.

Their work, “Factors Associated With Return-to-Work Following Cervical Spine Surgery in Non-Worker’s Compensation Setting,” appears in the July 1, 2019 edition of Spine.

Co-author Clinton Devin, M.D. explained the purpose of the study to OTW, “The majority of studies evaluating return to work following spine surgery have focused on the worker compensation population. Many of the outcome metrics that we utilize focus on patient reported outcomes, which certainly have some subjectivity.”

“Return to work is a functional measure that provides an objective assessment as to the positive impact a spine procedure has on the working population. Interestingly lost wages for the patient and caregiver contribute nearly 40% of the overall cost of care from society’s perspective.”

“In our study we found that 83% of patients returned to work following cervical spine surgery and the average length for return to work was 35 days. Those with greater comorbidities reflected by CAD [coronary artery disease], COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease], higher ASA [American Society of Anesthesiologists] score had a lower return to work.”

“Furthermore, having a more labor-intensive job resulted in a lower return to work. This information provides expectations for employers as to when an employee may return to work based on unique characteristics. This allows for planning of workforce and risk stratification for those that are self-insured.”