Dennis and Susan Isernhagen

Physical Therapy Products recently spoke with Susan Isernhagen, cofounder and COO of DSI Work Solutions Inc, Duluth, Minn, about starting her new company, and what her new company offers to PTs.

How useful has your training as a PT been for your business?

I believe it is because we are therapists and work continually in occupational health that our programs are effective. We work directly with employers, medical providers, insurers, case managers, and the therapists working with industry. This is how we discover the new changes that the system needs and how therapists can best serve as functional experts in work injury and management. We do what we teach and support.

How did DSI Work Solutions Inc get started?

My husband, Dennis, and I—both occupational health leaders for 20 years—founded DSI in 2005 as a result of our advancements with employers, medical providers, and case managers. We saw the need for all-new concepts to match the changes and opportunities in the return-to-work and injury-prevention fields.

What is DSI doing for PTs?

DSI utilizes therapist skill in measuring the physical demands of work and the functional ability of workers to perform safely. DSI's new programs use evidence base, legality, and measurement of outcomes. We offer our therapist customers training in the licensed systems and complete help as they move forward to expand their occupational health programs.

What is in store for DSI in the future?

We intend to keep our company focused on the most advanced and useful programs that tie together the needs of workers and employers. Therapists and DSI programs are the missing link in work-injury management and prevention. As a small private company working directly in the field, we can move and advance fast in an effective leadership role. We want to continue to provide excellent outcomes for therapists, medical providers, employers, and referrers.

What are the plans for Functional Fitness for Duty II in October, your second annual conference being held in Chicago?

Our first conference was so successful, we were encouraged to do it again. It is the only conference focused directly on the functional aspects of measuring work ability and work requirements. Speakers will include nationally known physicians, therapists, employers, and case managers. We will have the final agenda and speaker list ready soon. People can visit www.dsiworksolutions.com for a brochure.

You've been on the forefront of occupational rehabilitation programs for years. Are you currently developing any new programs?

DSI Job Function Matching programs are all new. Our philosophies have not changed and remain strong—fairness and objectivity are cornerstones. However, we took the significant research on our kinesiophysical method, and created programs with a totally new look and application. Other methods merely list physical demands. The new Job Function Analysis and Description do two things. First, they call out the ergonomic stressors, and second, the job-function description format is far easier to read, makes logical sense, and is written with job tasks as the focus, not just physical demands. Employers and therapists are quickly choosing this over former methods.

What are some of your programs?

The Job Function Tests, Post Offer has been embraced by employers as providing data so they hire people who can do the functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation.

The main thing missing from other programs is meeting the needs of employers or supervisors who require job-specific information on ability of the worker to return to the original job. In focus groups, employers have repeatedly said that 98% to 99% of workers who have a work comp injury return "eventually" to the original job, full-time. It is the "eventually" that is so expensive. The DSI early return-to-work program has already demonstrated immediate return on investment for employers and workers. Every party benefits from objective job-related testing to make return-to-work decisions faster.

Functional capacity assessments (FCAs) have been criticized for being too long, too difficult to read, not focused on what the referrer really wanted to know, expensive, and not always helpful. DSI held focus groups regarding what referrers want from an FCA and also listened to therapists who uniformly stated that FCAs need to be shorter, cleaner, and easy to write up. The DSI FCA has such clear methods of information gathering that the report is done in minutes and answers all referral questions desired. It has been a practice builder for clinics utilizing it. DSI also is the first choice of several national insurers.

Is there anything you'd like to let readers know about DSI?

Dennis and I would like to reconnect with past or new professional colleagues who do not know that we have the new company, DSI—which stands for Dennis and Susan Isernhagen. We send out a free e-mail newsletter to all that request it with the latest news in the field, including advancements, legal updates, success stories, and ergonomic ideas. We always welcome anyone who wishes to know the state-of-the-art, what their role can be, and about the important role that therapists and function play in reducing injury and helping people return to work.