Green, Tammy

Abstract Objective To share findings of a quality improvement initiative to capture employment status in the electronic medical record (EMR) to mitigate the potential impact of work loss on the health of patients by utilizing the results to identify eligible individuals for resources to assist return-to-work efforts. Materials and Methods Patients self-identified employment status through a structured new social determinants of health (SDOH) question within the EMR. An electronic outreach campaign was developed to provide information via the patient portal detailing services within healthcare and the community that could benefit the patients. Results Over the course of 12 months, 2059 patients were identified from the employment SDOH question. Resources to support stay at work and return to work efforts were provided to patients through an automated electronic portal campaign with 87% of patients reading the message and 7% engaging with a healthcare return to work case manager. Discussion Loss of employment has detrimental impacts on individual and population health. Most EMRs do not capture information on employment status. Adding this simple question identified individuals with potential gaps in SDOH, and in this case allowed specific resources to be shared with patients with an illness or injury that was acutely impacting work. Conclusion Medical center decision makers and EMR programmers should consider adding employment status as a social determinant of health.

Background The Minnesota Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury and Illness Network (MN RETAIN) is a randomized controlled study designed to evaluate early interventions promoting workforce retention among workers in Minnesota. The study compares a cohort receiving increased support for stay at work and return to work (SAW/RTW) services from healthcare organizations and resources through workforce development to a control cohort provided solely a list of SAW/RTW resources within the state they can access on their own. Objective This manuscript aims to describe the design of the MN RETAIN Phase 2 study and experience to date including enrollment. Target enrollment for Phase 2 of MN RETAIN is 3200 workers with approximately half receiving SAW/RTW services from a Return-to-Work Case Manager (RWTCM) who is embedded within the healthcare team. MN RETAIN is structured to be accessible to all workers within the state, with a focus on equity and reaching historically underserved populations. Methods Phase 2 of the RETAIN model expanded the focus from the southeast region of MN to state-wide coverage. Enrollment and services were designed to acquire a large enough cohort to reach adequate statistical power to detect differences in disability costs and rates of SAW/RTW in participating study subjects. Impact analysis of RETAIN will be performed by the federal evaluator at a future date. Results Characteristics of enrolled participants to date are summarized as well as considerations for sustainability of the program upon study completion. Conclusions To date, the study has reached diverse workers from throughout the state of MN to provide assistance with SAW/RTW.