Disability management services:: Opportunities & challenges in the private sector

Rehabilitation professionals and vocational evaluators have promising opportunities in the disability management service delivery system. However, to take advantage of these opportunities, the realities of the business and health care environment must be understood and responded to with innovative and proactive strategies. The internal and external forces impacting disability programs in the United States are dynamic and multi-dimensional. As American business seeks to remain competitive and expand into emerging global markets, management of its increasingly diverse workforce presents major challenges. An important 1995 study by UNUM Insurance Company found that, on average, 8-10% of total payroll is spent on disability. The cost of disability is of specific interest tb the business community and has spurred wide-ranging interest in a variety of proactive strategies involving injury and illness prevention, health care cost containment and management, and return-to-work efforts. The following discussion of issues will be used to outline how vocational counseling and evaluation professionals can maintain a viable role in the disability management arena.