Two‐year health and employment outcomes among injured workers enrolled in the Washington State Managed Care Pilot Project*†

Abstract

Increasing numbers of injured workers are being treated through managed care delivery systems, yet little is known about the long-term effects of care provided through these systems. We analyzed health outcomes, return to work, and employment status at 2 years post-injury among a cohort of workers who were previously enrolled in the Washington State Managed Care Pilot Project. Data on functional status, satisfaction with quality of life, return to work and employment status were gathered via telephone interviews and mailed questionnaires from a subset of 374 injured workers who had a time loss claim that involved 4 or more days of lost work time. Of these 374 subjects, 106 were treated through managed care and 268 through fee-for-service (FFS) arrangements. Health outcomes were assessed through the SF-36, the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), and the Satisfaction with Quality of Life (QOL) instruments. Standard univariate and multivariate statistical methods were used to compare the two groups with respect to the health and employment outcomes. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in functional status, satisfaction with quality of life or employment outcomes, except in regard to perceived recovery. FFS patients were more likely to indicate their recovery at 2 years post injury was going well (62 vs. 45%, P = .01). Almost 90% of the injured workers returned to work at some point following their injury and 72% reported working during the 4 weeks prior to their 2-year follow-up interview. Injured workers treated through managed care, based upon an occupational-medicine model, appear to experience similar long-term health and employment outcomes as workers treated through traditional FFS.