The primary goals of setting up an effective, well-managed, medically restricted RTW program are to:
- Decrease costs associated with disability,
- Improve outcomes through a speedy recovery, and
- Increase worker morale.
An effective RTW program should benefit all workers, whether or not the disability is work-related. To reserve assistance for only work-related cases tends to encourage workers to turn non-work-related disabilities into workers’ compensation (WC) claims to get the additional benefits.