Medical Care And Return To Work In The Age Of COVID

On September 24, the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) president and CEO John Ruser led a webinar on the delivery of medical care and return to work in the COVID-19 era.

Ruser was joined by WCRI senior research fellow Dr. Randy Lea, who is an orthopedic surgeon and hospital chief medical officer in Columbus, OH, and infectious disease expert Dr. Mark Herbert.

Among the topics discussed were changes in the delivery of care and hospital services as a result of COVID-19, impacts on workers’ compensation patients’ access to medical care, what tests are available, and return-to-work strategies and protocols for recovered COVID-19 patients.

According to Lea, there have been three phases of pandemic response in health care delivery and hospital services.

The initial, acute phase was marked by considerable uncertainty.