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For PT Practice Owners & Operations Leaders

Is your work comp service line a program, or a collection of habits?

Not another CEU. A program your practice can run.

TWHP helps PT practices and operations leaders build or optimize a work comp and industrial rehab service line: FCE standards, work conditioning and return-to-work systems, employer-facing services, and the documentation to back it all up.

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The Challenge

Work comp can be a growth engine, or it can be a service line no one owns.

Work comp referrals and payer mix are unpredictable

Practices may lack a documented, repeatable process for building and holding onto employer and case-manager referral relationships.

FCE and work conditioning protocols vary by clinician

Without shared standards, report quality and medico-legal defensibility can vary from one evaluator to the next.

Employer-facing services are inconsistent or absent

POET and center-based First Aid can be strong differentiators, but they take program design most practices haven't had time to build.

There's no dedicated owner for the work comp service line

Work comp and industrial rehab often sit alongside general orthopedic caseload, without the operating cadence a distinct service line needs.

Where work comp referrals actually come from. Most work comp cases don't arrive because a patient chose your clinic. They are routed — by managed care networks like MedRisk, One Call, SPNet, and Bardavon, by nurse case managers, by adjusters, and by employers. A real program is built for that routing system: credentialed with the networks that matter in your markets, documented to the standard those networks and case managers expect, and measured by referral source so you can see which channels are sending you cases and which have gone quiet. If you can't answer “which network sent us our last ten work comp cases?”, that is the first gap to fix.

Christopher Torres, PT, DPT, OCS, CEAS, of Torres Workforce Health Partners consults on workers’ comp and industrial rehab program design for physical therapy practices nationwide. The consulting is operator-led: 26 years in physical therapy, including running a group of 25+ clinics and building work comp programs inside them.

Assess → Build → Lead

How TWHP partners with PT practices.

A practical path from insight to sustained improvement. The Diagnostic is the usual starting point; each step stands on its own, and every engagement is run by one person - 26 years as a physical therapist, including 8 running multi-site clinical operations.

  1. 01Assess

    Work Comp & Industrial Rehab Program Diagnostic

    A bounded review of your practice's current work comp and industrial rehab program - referral sources, protocols, employer services, and documentation - with a prioritized roadmap.

    Best for

    PT practice owners and operations leaders who need a clear read on their work comp and industrial rehab service line before investing in change.

    Includes

    • Review of referral sources, payer mix, and volume for workers' comp
    • Review of current FCE, work conditioning, and return-to-work protocols
    • Review of employer services (POET, on-site or center-based First Aid) presence and design
    • Documentation-quality and medico-legal defensibility review
    • Program scorecard against best practices
    • Gap analysis and prioritized recommendations
    • Suggested operating cadence and staffing roles
    Explore the Program Diagnostic
  2. 02Build

    FCE, Work Conditioning, POET & Center-Based First Aid Systems

    A project-based engagement designing or refining your practice's industrial rehab and employer-services systems - vendor-agnostic, built on documented job demands.

    Best for

    Practices that have identified priority gaps and need practical protocols, documentation standards, and reporting templates.

    Potential workstreams

    • FCE test-selection standards, validity criteria, and report structure
    • Work conditioning / return-to-work progression protocols
    • POET job-analysis standards and test batteries aligned to essential functions
    • Center-based OSHA First Aid program design, triage, and escalation criteria
    • Work comp PT practice KPI dashboard and executive reporting design
    • Employer- and case-manager-facing communication templates
    • Documentation and outcome-tracking templates
    Discuss a System Build Project
  3. 03Lead

    Fractional Work Comp & Industrial Rehab Program Oversight

    Retainer-based fractional leadership for ongoing program QA, complex case review, and protocol improvement.

    Best for

    Practices that need ongoing program oversight and accountability without adding a full-time senior clinical leader.

    Includes

    • KPI data tracking and executive reporting for the work comp program
    • Quarterly chart and FCE report audits
    • Complex case consults and return-to-work plan support
    • Protocol tuning based on outcomes and feedback
    • Coaching for the practice's internal work comp champions
    • Ongoing alignment with treating clinicians on documentation standards
    Explore Fractional Program Leadership
Systems

The systems a build can apply.

A build draws on these system areas as the work requires. Each is scoped in the implementation Statement of Work - they are not part of the Diagnostic, whose roadmap identifies which ones would help.

FCE Program Design

Standardize the evaluation. Consistent tests, consistent reports, regardless of who's in the room.

Test-selection standards, validity criteria, report structure, and physician- and case-manager-friendly language for your practice's FCE program - vendor-agnostic (OccuPro, other FCE software).

  • Test-selection standards and validity criteria
  • Report structure and scoring documentation
  • Physician- and case-manager-friendly reporting language

Typical deliverable

FCE program protocol and report template

What it supports

Gives evaluators a shared standard so report quality and defensibility don't depend on which clinician ran the test.

What an FCE Is and When to Order One

Work Conditioning / RTW System Design

Build the bridge. From evaluation to a documented, job-aligned return to work.

Job-based progression protocols, documentation and outcome-tracking templates, and alignment to job-demand profiles for your work conditioning and return-to-work programs.

  • Job-based progression protocols
  • Documentation and outcome-tracking templates
  • Alignment to job-demand profiles

Typical deliverable

Work conditioning / RTW protocol and tracking template set

What it supports

Gives your team a repeatable path from evaluation to documented, job-aligned return to work.

What Work Conditioning and RTW Include

POET & Job-Demand Service Line Design

Build the employer-facing offer. A test battery tied to documented essential functions.

Job-analysis standards and test batteries aligned to essential functions, designed with ADA/EEOC guardrails in mind and compatible with systems like OccuPro and WorkSTEPS.

  • Job-analysis standards
  • Test batteries aligned to essential functions
  • ADA/EEOC-aware design guardrails

Typical deliverable

POET protocol and job-demand service-line design

What it supports

Helps you offer employers a defensible testing service line. How a given test is classified and applied under the ADA and EEOC guidance depends on its design - review protocols with counsel.

Center-Based OSHA First Aid Program Design

Catch it early. First-aid-level care that stays inside first-aid definitions.

First-aid-level musculoskeletal protocols aligned to OSHA First Aid guidance, with triage, visit caps, escalation criteria, and employer communication and reporting templates.

  • First-aid-level MSK protocols aligned to OSHA First Aid guidance
  • Triage, visit caps, and escalation criteria
  • Employer communication and reporting templates

Typical deliverable

Center-based First Aid program protocol and reporting templates

What it supports

Supports early intervention aimed at reducing recordable cases and claims escalation, designed to stay within first-aid definitions rather than treatment.

Work Comp PT Practice KPI Dashboard Development

See the program, not just the caseload. Executive-level visibility into what the service line is doing.

A KPI dashboard and executive reporting structure covering referral volume, payer mix, FCE and work conditioning outcomes, and program performance - built for leadership review, not clinical charting.

  • KPI definition: referral volume, payer mix, case duration, outcome trends
  • Dashboard build, using the practice's existing systems where possible
  • Executive reporting template and review cadence

Typical deliverable

Work comp PT practice KPI dashboard and executive reporting template

What it supports

Gives ownership and operations leadership a real-time, executive-level view of the work comp service line instead of scattered charting.

Focus Areas

What we help practice leaders manage.

  • Work comp referral growth and payer-mix stability
  • Work comp program KPI tracking and executive reporting
  • FCE quality, consistency, and medico-legal defensibility
  • Work conditioning and return-to-work program design
  • POET and employer-facing service-line design
  • Center-based OSHA First Aid program design
  • Documentation standards across evaluating clinicians
  • Relationships with employers, physicians, and case managers
  • Internal work comp champion coaching and accountability
Ideal Clients

Is this a fit for your practice?

TWHP is designed for PT practices and operations leaders, especially those seeing one or more of the following:

  • Work comp referrals that are flat, inconsistent, or concentrated in a single source
  • FCE or work conditioning protocols that vary by evaluator
  • Interest in adding or strengthening POET or center-based First Aid
  • Documentation or reporting that isn't consistently defensible
  • Growth across multiple locations without a shared work comp playbook
  • A need for senior program oversight without a full-time clinical-director hire
Independent Nurse Case Managers

Not a PT practice? This work also supports case managers.

Fractional return-to-work and job-demand specialist support for independent nurse case managers and case management firms - job-demand analysis, FCE review, and RTW plan design for your active cases.

See Case Manager Support

Scope

Program design and advisory support, not direct clinical care.

TWHP advises PT practices, operations leaders, and case management firms on work comp and industrial rehab program design - FCE standards, work conditioning systems, POET and job-demand services, and OSHA-aligned First Aid programs. TWHP does not provide outpatient PT/OT clinical treatment and does not replace the treating provider relationship.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How do we know if our work comp service line is a program or a collection of habits?

Start with the question most owners answer too fast: are your clinics actually ready to service work comp — the clinical team and the admin team? Then make it concrete with four. Are FCE and work conditioning protocols written down and the same across evaluators? When a work comp call comes in, does whoever answers know what to ask for, or does it route to the one person who handles work comp? Is there a documented, repeatable process for building and holding referral relationships with networks, case managers, adjusters, and employers? Does one named person own the service line's numbers? If any answer is no, you have habits, not a program — and that is what the diagnostic measures.

Does TWHP help with work comp managed care network participation?

Yes. In work comp, referrals flow through managed care networks such as MedRisk, One Call, SPNet, and Bardavon, as well as nurse case managers, adjusters, employers, and physicians. The Program Diagnostic reviews your referral sources and payer mix — including network participation — and the System Build can include the documentation and communication standards networks and case managers expect from a provider.

What does a System Build project typically include?

Depending on the gaps found: FCE test-selection standards, validity criteria, and report structure; work conditioning and return-to-work progression protocols; POET job-analysis standards and test batteries aligned to essential functions; center-based OSHA First Aid program design; a work comp KPI dashboard and executive reporting; and employer- and case-manager-facing communication and documentation templates.

What is fractional program leadership?

Retainer-based fractional oversight of your work comp and industrial rehab program — program QA, complex case review, and protocol improvement — for practices that need ongoing accountability without adding a full-time program director.

Where do practices start?

With the Work Comp & Industrial Rehab Program Diagnostic: a bounded 2–4 week assessment, delivered remote-first anywhere in the United States, that ends in a scorecard, gap analysis, and prioritized roadmap.

Start the Conversation

Start with a discovery call.

In a focused conversation, we will determine whether referral stability, FCE consistency, employer-facing services, or documentation defensibility are the priority - and whether a diagnostic is the right next step.

Book a Discovery Call