Articles

This page lists all practical and feature articles available on RTWMatters. From top ten tips, how to guides and case studies, through to webinar recordings and video interviews with industry experts.

Click the ‘Topics’ button below to drill down into all articles and research updates on your topic of interest.

Click the ‘Quick Guides’ button for practical bit sized guides that give you a sound basic knowledge base.

Migraines and work

contributorRTWMatters team

A quick guide to understanding, accommodating and preventing migraines at work.

Accommodating long-haul Covid-19 at work

contributorRTWMatters team

Practical advice for accommodating non-infectious workers with persistent Covid symptoms during...

Need to persuade higher-ups to take action on mental health at work?

contributorRTWMatters team

Progressive think-tank The Australia Institute has released a report that quantifies the costs...

How to really reassure

contributorGabrielle Lis

Patient / treater rapport, emotional validation and education backed by experiences that...

Bad reassurance: "You’re fine! Don’t worry!"

contributorGabrielle Lis

Doctors and allied health professionals aiming to avoid over-treatment can actually make things...

Factors influencing return to work outcomes

contributorState Insurance Regulatory Authority of NSW

Determined to reverse a decline in RTW rates in NSW, SIRA (the State Insurance Regulatory...

Workers' compensation needs better healthcare - Part 2

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

Positive change may be inspired by centers of excellence and everyday positivity emulated by...

Workers’ compensation needs better health care – Part I

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

Dr Wyatt explains how problems with agency, explanation deficits, delays and disputes,...

Webinar recording: The Elephant in the room - too much medicine

contributorProfessor Peter O'Sullivan

Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist Professor Peter O'Sullivan from Curtin University,...

SIRA answers questions about value-based healthcare

contributorRTWMatters team

Petrina Casey of SIRA discusses the benefits and challenges of value-based healthcare (VBH) in...

How do we walk back non-evidence-based medicine?

contributorGabrielle Lis

The road to the de-adoption of low value healthcare is littered with good intentions, backseat...

Call to power

contributorGabrielle Lis

Friendly telephone contact from laypeople with no psychological training alleviates loneliness,...

Webinar recording: Good healthcare - what is it and is your worker getting it?

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

In this webinar Dr Wyatt explores what constitutes good healthcare in work injury management and...

To medicalise or over-medicalise

contributorGabrielle Lis

What’s the difference, and why does it matter in workers’ compensation?

Barriers to VBH

contributorGabrielle Lis

Value-based healthcare promises to improve outcomes and reduce waste in workers’ compensation....

Making the case for VBH

contributorGabrielle Lis

Seven potential benefits of value-based healthcare (VBH) in the context of workers’...

Introducing value-based healthcare

contributorGabrielle Lis

Efficient, evidence-based and directed by what matters to patients: what’s not to like about...

Webinar recording: Recovery Blueprint: helping case managers help injured workers

contributorRoss Iles

The Recovery Blueprint project is a partnership between Monash University and WorkCover...

Emergency doctor who became a patient says symptoms should guide RTW

contributorGabrielle Lis

A symptoms-based approach is a smart and humane way to make return to work decisions,...

Australian workers hit hard by Covid worries

contributorGabrielle Lis

Almost as many Covid-related mental health claims as infection claims were lodged in Australia...

Measuring RTW in 5,4,3,2,1

contributorRTWMatters team

How should employers measure RTW performance? We dig into Safe Work Australia’s national...

The Covid long haul

contributorGabrielle Lis

They call themselves the long-haulers – people who struggle with persistent symptoms months...

The fire and rescue perspective on PTSD

contributorAndrew McGarity

Andrew McGarity of Fire and Rescue NSW speaks with Dr Mary Wyatt via video link about an...

Introducing cognitive functional therapy

contributorRTWMatters team

By creating a therapeutic "pain story," proponents of cognitive functional therapy claim the...

Physiotherapists and psychologists can now certify in NSW

contributorDr Petrina Casey

Dr Petrina Casey, Director, Health Policy, Prevention & Supervision at the State Insurance...

Interview with Dr Doron Samuell, psychiatrist and behavioural scientist

contributorDr Doron Samuell

There are deep, systemic problems with the way we manage mental health claims, according to Dr...

Our brains aren't computers, which matters for RTW

contributorGabrielle Lis

An individual's response to pain is unique to them and changes over time, so giving people the...

Will workers' comp scandals overshadow pervasive human costs?

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

Yes, workers' compensation schemes have been poorly managed. Real change will come when there is...

Pain has a new meaning

contributorGabrielle Lis

A change to the definition of pain offered by a key international organisation could change...

Working from home while homeschooling the kids

contributorDr Anamika Devi

It's a tough gig, but expert advice suggests that it is possible to maintain the wellbeing of...

Webinar recording: Automated Manual Handling Risk Assessments: a benefit or a distraction?

contributorDavid Bick

Presented by David Bick of JointAction Solutions along with Michael Lawrence and Roscoe McCord...

Telehealth in workers’ comp

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

Our in-house expert and seasoned Independent Medical Examiner, Dr Mary Wyatt, explains...

Webinar recording: Translating Sport Science Research into Practical Injury Management Programs

contributorScott Coleman

How an injured nurse, an elite athlete and wearable technology can help you reduce...

Rethinking presenteeism and prevention, post-COVID-19

contributorGabrielle Lis

Swap soldiering on for staying at home. Forgo social contact we used to take for granted. Two...