WEB043-2022
Live and Recorded on April 8, 2022, 1 pm – 2 pm Eastern
Long-term COVID and Return to Work Decision Making: Medical and Psychosocial Consideration
By Dr. Miranda Kofeldt, Ph.D., Dr. Steve Wiesner, MD and Dr. Rajiv Das, MD
Member: $20
Non-Member: $35
Topic Overview:
The Coronavirus pandemic presents a complex risk for injured workers in terms of obvious physical exposure and the potentially longer-lasting mental health shock waves. The presentation will provide an overview how physical, psychosocial factors and mental health diagnoses impact functional recovery and delays in return to work for injured workers impacted by long-COVID. The session will review the most common conditions associated with long-COVID, the impact of those conditions on recovery, and provide a review of return-to-work-oriented treatments. The discussion will include the influence of related disability and treatment on claim longevity and comment on the efficacy of an interdisciplinary approach to successfully treat employees and support return to work.
The presentation will also provide effective ways of communicating with patients and keys to identifying and addressing concerns of patients while preparing to return to work. Case studies will illustrate the utility of developing a whole-person strategy and how the integration of behavioral health can address important components of an effective treatment plan focused on functional recovery.
The panel will also review case examples including changes in functioning, chronic symptoms, specific anxieties and biopsychosocial factors.
Objectives:
-
Identify specific psychosocial factors that impact recovery from COVID
-
Describe tactics to engage patients regarding their physical and mental health while navigating long-term COVID.
-
Explain the concepts of deconditioning from the impacts of the pandemic: physical and psychological deconditioning
-
Review case examples including changes in functioning, chronic symptoms, specific anxieties and biopsychosocial factors.
Speaker Bios:
Dr. Miranda Kofeldt, PhD, earned her degree in Human Services Psychology and Behavioral Medicine from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). She is the Clinical Director and a Clinical Quality Assurance Advisor at Ascellus. Dr. Kofeldt has worked in private practice, as a Research Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of Clinical Training at the University of Maryland College Park, and as a clinical psychologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center’s Adult Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic. Areas of special interest and clinical expertise include treatment for trauma, substance use & other health behaviors, and the psychological sequalae of physical health conditions. Dr. Kofeldt has extensive training and experience with the use of motivational enhancement techniques. She has co-authored textbook chapters published by the American Psychiatric Association and contributed to the Gender, Women, and the Tobacco Epidemic monograph for the World Health Organization.
Dr. Steve Wiesner, MD worked for The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) from April 1994 through May 2020 at which time he retired from TPMG. During that period, he was the Northern California Kaiser Permanente On-the-Job (KPOJ) Medical Director for Workers’ Compensation Services, working closely with the Kaiser Permanente Occupational Health Sales and Account Management Team. Dr. Wiesner served as the Medical Director for the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Health Care Organization (HCO) providing clinical oversight for utilization review and case management services. Dr. Wiesner was the Physician Advisor for the Kaiser Permanente National Integrated Disability Management (IDM) Program supporting the eight Kaiser Permanent regions in providing disability management education and clinical resources. He served as the Assistant Physician-in-Chief of the Kaiser Permanente East Bay Medical Center, Physician Human Resource Department and was the Chief of the East Bay Occupational Health Departments in Oakland and Richmond, California. He now serves as a Medical Advisor for PeerWell and Karuna Labs and is a consultant with the Colorado Permanente Medical Group supporting their disability management programs.
Rajiv Das, MD is Board Certified in Occupational Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine. He has a special interest in Delayed Recovery from occupational injuries and works closely as the Medical Director for Safeway stores with the care team. He is located in the South San Francisco Bay Area and has over 20 years of experience in workers compensation.
Requirements for Completion
Successful completion of this activity includes submitting an accurate registration, making necessary payment, and reviewing all activity slides and the webinar presentation. Completion of the evaluation form is required.
Type of Activity
Knowledge
Disclosures: AOHP does not guarantee, warrant, certify, verify, and/or authorize the content of this seminar, and/or any subsequent use of the information presented at this webinar. This webinar is not a clinical/medical service but is intended for educational purposes only. Planners of this educational activity have no real or apparent financial, professional or personal conflict of interest to disclose. Faculty/presenter disclosure is stated following each presenter’s bio-sketch. AOHP has implemented a mechanism to identify and resolve all conflicts of interest before the delivery of this educational activity.
Commercial or Sponsor Support: N/A
Continuing education Contact Hour: This activity awards one (1) contact hour.
Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP 17664.
Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual has an opportunity to affect educational content about healthcare products or services of a commercial company with which she/he has a financial, professional or personal relationship.
The planners and presenter(s)/author(s) of this education activity have disclosed no relevant financial, professional or personal relationships with any commercial companies about this activity.
Non-Endorsement of Products
The Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare's accredited provider status refers only to continuing education activities and does not imply that there is real or implied endorsement of any product, service or company referred to in this activity nor of any company subsidizing costs related to the activity.