Health practice and management
Health-care providers and health-care services play an important part in the return to work (RTW) of injured workers and in disability management processes at workers’ compensation boards in Canada. IWH research supports front-line health-care practitioners—including primary care physicians and allied health-care professionals, who support or treat workers with injuries and illnesses that affect their ability to work.
Featured
Research Highlights
Telementoring program addresses return-to-work challenges for Ontario health-care providers
An IWH study has found that Ontario health-care providers face a range of challenges when treating workers with a work-related injury or illness and helping them return to work—a telementoring program called ECHO Occupational Environmental Medicine helped providers overcome some of these challenges.
Published: July 8, 2025
At Work article
How employers are improving RTW outcomes for public safety workers with PSTI
Public safety employers face a range of challenges when supporting workers to return to work after experiencing a post-traumatic stress injury. Employers have developed strategies to face these challenges, as outlined in a recent IWH Speaker Series presentation.
Published: March 12, 2025
Project
Project
Project ECHO Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM): Implementation, evaluation and a pilot study of a new clinical tool
IWH is piloting a telementoring program in which a multidisciplinary team of health-care experts uses video conferencing to connect with primary healthcare providers in remote Ontario communities to help them better manage patients with complex work-related injuries and diseases or environmental exposures.
Status: Completed
Research Highlights
Examining communication and collaboration barriers among health and case management professionals
Communication barriers between health-care providers and case managers appear to stem from differences in communication styles, professional priorities and philosophical perspectives about the timing and appropriateness of return to work. Barriers exist even among practitioners of different health disciplines.
Published: March 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Perceived role and expectations of health care providers in return to work
Published: Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, March 2019
Journal article
Journal article
What are physicians told about their role in return to work and workers' compensation systems? An analysis of Canadian resources
Published: Policy and Practice in Health and Safety, October 2018
Journal article
Journal article
The role of healthcare providers in return to work
Published: International Journal of Disability Management, August 2018
Journal article
Journal article
Prescription dispensing patterns before and after a workers' compensation claim: an historical cohort study of workers with low back pain injuries in British Columbia
Published: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, July 2018
IWH in the media
Opioids linked to longer disability leaves
A Canadian review of five studies have found a link between opioid prescriptions and longer duration of time on disability, writes Sarah Dobson, who interviews Dr. Nancy Carnide and Dr. Andrea Furlan, among others, about implications of this IWH study.
Published: Canadian HR Reporter, June 2018
At Work article
Studies consistent in finding a link between opioids for MSDs and longer work disability
A systematic review on early opioid prescription for MSDs and work disability finds a consistent link with longer work disability. However, review authors urge caution in drawing a conclusion about cause and effect.
Published: February 2018
Journal article
Journal article
Early prescription opioid use for musculoskeletal disorders and work outcomes: a systematic review of the literature
Published: Clinical Journal of Pain, July 2017
IWH in the media
Getting back on one's feet
Healthcare providers who treat injured workers with multiple injuries and complex illnesses find the workers’ compensation system and return-to-work (RTW) process “opaque and confusing.” That's one of the findings from a two-year, multijurisdictional study by the Institute of Work & Health (IWH).
Published: OHS Canada, February 2017