LifeTEAM Program Meets Leading Disability Guidelines

For immediate release

LifeTEAM Program Meets Leading Disability Guidelines

PGAP® becomes a recommended option for occupational and non-occupational disability claims

 

LOS GATOS, CA – June 18, 2013 – LifeTEAM, a leader in delayed recovery for individuals who are struggling with occupational and non-occupational disability following an injury or health event. LifeTEAM is an outcomes focused rehabilitation network delivering Progressive Goal Attainment Program (PGAP®) and other programs throughout the U.S. PGAP® has recently been included in the Official Disability Guidelines (ODG).

ODG provides the most up to date evidence-based medical treatment and disability duration guidelines to improve as well as benchmark outcomes in workers’ comp and non-occupational disability. ODG 2013 is succinct, straightforward, complete, and authoritative – based on an aggregate of over 10 million cases and a decade and a half of research, including a systematic medical literature review. In this ongoing task to make tangible and accessible the results of important and emerging medical evidence to minimize the impact of illness and injury in the workplace, Work Loss Data Institute is pleased to introduce ODG 2013.

A program delivered by LifeTEAM, PGAP® has been approved by the ODG Guidelines as a recommended option when there is access to trained providers.  LifeTEAM leads a network of over 300 providers across the United States.

PGAP® is considered the first disability prevention program specifically designed to target psychosocial risk factors for occupational and non-occupational disability. The primary goals of PGAP® are to reduce barriers to rehabilitation progress, promote re-integration into life-role activities, improve quality of life, and facilitate return-to-work if appropriate.

PGAP has produced positive results for individuals suffering from musculoskeletal conditions, depression, and cancer. One study showed that participation in PGAP increased the probability of return to work following whiplash injury by more than 50%. (Sullivan2, 2006)  Findings suggest that PGAP can be a cost-effective means of improving function and facilitating return to work in individuals at risk for prolonged disability. (Sullivan, 2010) (Adams, 2007)

About LifeTEAM:

Founded in 2011, LifeTEAM™ programs have been made available to impact the escalating disability problem in North America.  By delivering innovative biopsychosocial rehabilitation programs to workers’ compensation and disability carriers, self-insured employers and third party administrators, LifeTEAM has been able to make a practical difference both economically and functionally. To learn more, log onto www.LifeTEAMHealth or call 800.994.3220

 

About ODG:

The Work Loss Data Institute (WLDI) is an independent database development company focused on workplace health and productivity, with offices in California, Texas and Montana. WLDI produces the Official Disability Guidelines (ODG) now in its 18th edition, which provides evidence-based disability duration guidelines and benchmarking data for every reportable condition. To learn more log onto www.disabilitydurations.com

PGAP® was developed at the University Centre for Research on Pain and Disability. To learn more about PGAP® visit http://www.pdp-pgap.com/pgap/en/index.html or visit http://www.lifeteamhealth.com/

 

 

 

 

 

Official Disability Guidelines and PGAP – RTW Workshop

LifeTEAM Invitation-PGAP Workshop 2013 San Diego – ODG Recommends PGAP

We are pleased to invite rehabilitation counselors, OTs, PTs Voc Rehab, RNs, and other health care providers to participate with LifeTEAM Health. This is an exciting opportunity to learn how to address psychosocial risk factors from leading expert, Michael Sullivan PhD. Dr. Sullivan’s program, The Progressive Goal Attainment Program (PGAP™) is currently considered one of the most empirically supported interventions for targeting psychosocial risk factors for work disability. It is also an opportunity to participate with a leading edge community of rehabilitation professionals, LifeTEAM Health. LifeTEAM and PGAP is utilized for clients in workers compensation, disability (STD/LTD), and it is currently being piloted with the VA. It is utilized with clients who are disabled from health conditions such as pain, mental health issues and other chronic occupational and non-occupational disabling conditions.

From ODG: 

Progressive goal attainment program (PGAP™)

Recommended as an option where there is access to trained providers. PGAP is a standardized community-based intervention delivered by OTs or PTs who have been trained by the PGAP program. The primary goal of PGAP is to reduce psychosocial barriers to return-to-work. PGAP has produced positive results for individuals suffering from musculoskeletal conditions, depression, and cancer. This study showed that participation in PGAP increased the probability of return to work following whiplash injury by more than 50%. (Sullivan2, 2006)  Findings suggest that PGAP can be a cost-effective means of improving function and facilitating return to work in individuals at risk for prolonged disability. (Sullivan, 2010) (Adams, 2007)

Criteria for the Progressive goal attainment program (PGAP™):

– Lack of improvement with early active physical therapy

– Off work at least 5 weeks, but less than 5 months of continuous time lost

– Surgery not planned or likely

– No evidence of drug or alcohol problem

– Not currently in work hardening

– Maximum of 10 weeks treatment with one hour sessions on a weekly basis (L&I, 2013)

We are holding the Workshop at the Historic Hotel del Coronado http://www.hoteldel.com/. The Del is truly a unique destination and the weather is beautiful in September! The dates are September 6-7.

We are approved for 12 hours of CEUs for certified rehabilitation counselors (CRCs) and CCMS. We are in the process of being approved by AOTA for OTs, and CCMs, PTs, and RNs as well.

Additional Background

Needless work disability, sometimes also referred to as delayed recovery, has reached near epidemic proportions over the last 30 years. More recently, research over the last 10 years has taught us that psychosocial factors (non-medical factors) are one of the major contributors that drive costs seen in both workers compensation and disability claims. Unfortunately proven interventions have been scarce to address this population. LifeTEAM was developed to target psychosocial risk factors through specialized evidence-based rehabilitation programs utilizing our national network of providers. One of the innovative programs we have adopted is Progressive Goal Attainment Program (PGAP).

PGAP and Dr. Sullivan:

Progressive Goal Attainment Program (PGAP™) is considered the first disability prevention program specifically designed to target psychosocial risk factors for work disability. It is an evidence-based rehabilitation program for reducing work disability associated with pain, depression, PTSD and other chronic health conditions. Published peer-reviewed research on PGAP has demonstrated how PGAP improves return to work outcomes as well as reduces treatment and pain medication utilization at 1 year follow-up, resulting in improved outcomes and lower claims costs. Over 30,000 work disabled clients have participated in PGAP in Canada over the last 10 years. It should be noted that the Canadian workers compensation and disability systems are very similar to the systems here in the U.S. and the Canadian workers compensation and disability systems are not related to their socialized medical system.

PGAP is a cost-effective alternative to higher priced ‘cottage industry’ functional restoration programs. Payors are finding PGAP an attractive option for delayed recovery injured workers because of the published PGAP research documenting successful outcomes and because the intervention is both accessible and affordable. PGAP can be a smart choice for payors when medical interventions have not been successful in getting injured workers back to work.

Michael Sullivan, Ph.D.is Scientific Research Director at the Centre on Pain and Disability at McGill University and serves as a senior consultant to LifeTEAM Health. As you may know, Dr. Sullivan is a leading international expert in clinical interventions that mitigate bio-psychosocial risk factors that are shown to delay return-to-work in workers’ compensation and disability cases. Progressive Goal Attainment Program (PGAP) is an evidence-based clinical intervention which is shown to reduce these risk factors and improve return to work and health outcomes. PGAP is heavily used in Canada and was selected by the US Social Security Administration to be an integral part of its recent 5-year, $40 million study with MDRC to determine the efficacy of the PGAP approach to improve return to work results for their long-term disability recipients. That study has now resulted in a second trial with MDRC for disabled Veterans returning to the U.S. who are having difficulty re-integrating back to civilian life. PGAP is also being piloted in the State of Washington with Labor and Industry (the workers compensation system in Washington) as well as in the province of British Columbia as a preferred rehabilitation strategy.

http://sullivan-painresearch.mcgill.ca/ Dr. Sullivan’s research site.

More about LifeTEAM

LifeTEAM™ Health was developed to implement cost-effective strategies to transform how work disability is managed in North America. LifeTEAM™ is delivering Progressive Goal Attainment Program (PGAP™) through its network of rehabilitation providers. LifeTEAM has been delivering PGAP since the summer of 2011. With its large panel of rehabilitation providers expressly trained in PGAP, LifeTEAM has providers in 43 states today and growing. We have the ability to deliver services telephonically anywhere in the U.S. LifeTEAM selects providers based on a personal interview, provider treatment philosophy, years in practice and reputation as well as input from colleagues within insurance companies, managed care companies and other rehabilitation professionals. We have built a quality assurance team/system and a clinician to clinician mentorship program as well as an online documentation system (LifeTRACK) so that we can obtain the outcomes our partners expect. LifeTEAM is a community of outcome rehabilitation providers specialized in psychosocial risk factor targeted interventions delivering services to the workers compensation and disability insurance industry.

www.lifeteamhealth.com

Thank you again for your interest in LifeTEAM!

Please contact me if you would like more information on how to register, compensation, etc.