Vocational Rehabilitation Index assessment of rehabilitation medicine service patients.

Only a minority of working-age patients referred to rehabilitation medicine services return to work, but could more be helped? A first step is identifying those potentially able to do so. This paper describes the retrospective application of the Vocational Rehabilitation Index (VRI) to 223 patients of working age and with various diagnoses referred to one rehabilitation medicine service. The VRI discriminates between patients who return to work and those who do not, as well as between groups with apparently differing degrees of need for vocational rehabilitation assistance. It also has good face validity. Results suggest that it is feasible to apply the VRI in rehabilitation medicine settings and that further prospective evaluation and practical applications should be undertaken.