Abstract:
Work capacity evaluation (WCE) is a systematic method of
measuring a worker’s ability to perform occupationally-
meaningful tasks safely and dependably, for the purpose of
evaluating their fitness and risk when starting to work or
when returning to work after an injury or illness. WCE is
also used to determine the presence (and, if present, the
level) of disability so that the patient’s case with a workers’
compensation carrier can be bureaucratically or judicially
concluded. General practitioners (GPs) in New Zealand
encounter WCEs as part of the Work Capacity Assessment
Procedure (WCAP) inaugurated by the Accident
Rehabilitation Compensation and Insurance Corporation
(ACC) in late 1997.1 In the WCAP, an Occupational
Assessor (OA) will have worked face-to-face with an injured
worker when they have reached their maximal medical
improvement and completed rehabilitation.