Functional Capacity Evaluations and Impairment Ratings.

WHAT IS AN FCE?

A series of functional tests to measure your ability to work and live.

A Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) is a type of medical examination that helps you get answers for your disability or workers’ compensation case. This exam is used to evaluate how an injury or illness affects your ability to work. It will also provide the doctor with enough information to determine if you can return to work and the type of work you can return to do. Physical therapists, whose core competencies include functional evaluation, began to develop functional capacity tests for comparison to the physical demands of jobs and occupations. These functional tests initially examined and evaluated the ability of a worker to perform physical job match conditions as described by the US Department of Labor in Selected Characteristics of Occupations as Defined in the Revised Dictionary of Occupational Titles and The Revised Handbook for Analyzing Jobs. Functional capacity evaluation, combined with diagnoses and prognoses by physical therapists has emerged as a valid and effective tool to support a safe return to work, activities of daily living, or leisure activities after an injury or illness.

Return-to-work and job-placement decisions
Disability evaluation
Determination of how non-work-related illness and injuries impact work performance
Determination of functioning in a non-occupational setting
Intervention and treatment planning
Case management and case closure

Source: American Physical Therapy Association. Occupational Health Physical Therapy: Evaluating Functional Capacity Guidelines