Document Oz8oxbRpjgReeJMk5B74jzB71
FLAX--REHABILITATION OF HAND INJURIES
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treatment. His incapacity was reduced from 33;45 per cent of the hand to 15.5
per cent. The average daily cost of the physical medicine treatment has been calculated by
the auditing department of the State Insurance Fund to be about $4.45. Since the average number of treatment days was found to be 17.5, the average cost of physical medicine per case is $77.88.
Total incapacity, or 100 per cent loss, of a hand is valued at 190 weeks in Puerto Rico. This study shows that the disability was reduced by 17.95 per cent, or 34.10 weeks. During this same period the weekly compensations of this group of workers averaged $9.66 ($1.61 per day for six days).
. This means that the total compensation saved in each case was $329.41. Deduct ing the costs of rehabilitating the injured workmen as completely as possible, the
Table 1.--Grand Summary
Group Patients
r
Before M* PM*
Treatment, per Cent
A
After A
M PM '
Difference
A t
M PM
1 42 2 60 3 23 4 118
18.5 18.8 22.8 21.7 30.0 31.5 44.1 45.3
7.4 10.0 8.2 9.3 9.1 12.4 15.2 21.3
--11.1 --14.6 --20.9 --28.9
-- 8.8 --12.4 --19.1 --24.0
5 .15 6 21 7 33
38.0 42.0 48.0 49.8 38.5 43.5
14.6 18.5 33.7 33.6 26.2 28.5
--23.4 --14.3 --12.3
--23.5 --16.2 --15.0
8
45
23.0 24.1
12.2 13.5
--10.8 --10.6
9
24
27.7 31.8
10.5 18.4
--17.2 --13.4
10
10
25.7 30.7
18.2 9.3
-- 7.5 --21.4
11
66
45.8 43.0
22.0 22.0
--23.8 --21.0
12
45
34.2 37.4
19.0 13.6
--15.2 --23.9
13
39
19.3 21.7
4.0 7.2
--15.3 --14.5
14
28
32.5 31.2
6.9 9.4
--25.6 --21.8
15
4
22.0 41.0
1.0 22.5
--21.0 --18.5
10
70
18.7 21.5
7.8 11.3
--10.9 --10.2
17 132
20.0 20.0
4.1 7.6
--15.9 --12.4
18
26
35.9 43,0
30.2 32.0
-- 5.7 --11.0
19
13
34.0 35.0
14.0 9.6
--20.0 --25.4
Total No. 814
Av..........
. 32.0 34.9
14.3 16.7
--17.7 --18.2
-
Av. Age
35.7 32.0 34.0 33.0 32.0 33.7 36.0 39.4 37.5 30.0 37.2 38.4 33.3 35.0 42.0 39.0 34.6 39.0 35.0
Period Before Treat
ment, Weeks ' 4.6
3.5 3.3 4.7
6.3 4.4 4.8 5.0 5.1 3.9
5.8
5.6 5.3 4.0 7.0 5.0 5.1 11.0 5.3
Period Period of of Occupa-
Physical tlonal Therapy
Treat Treat: ment, ment. Days Days
12 13
13 12
19 19 19 16
20 18 21 17
20 20
17 19
20 18
18 21
26 26
22 22 .
15 15 12 14 17 22
17 16
12 13
20 20.
16 18
35.6 5.2 17 18
*M stands for incapacity determined, by the Medical Division; PM for incapacity determined by the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
State Insurance Fund saved $251.53 per case, or $204,745.42 in all, by treating these 814 patients.
These admissions represent the most severely injured of the 4,003 workmen with hand and finger wounds who received permanent partial compensation awards during 1948-1949. Most probably these workmen would not have reduced their disabilities to any great extent outside the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
On the other hand, to appease critics, one may agree that these patients might have improved as much as 50. per cent in the samedength of time without treatment. This would still have represented a loss of $164.70 per case or a total of $134,065.80, and the laborer would have remained 50 per cent more incapacitated than with treatment.