[Sick-listing II--an evaluation of rehabilitation assistance]

Patients certified as sick for more than eight weeks qualify for sickness benefit scheme No. 2. 38 patients in this group who suffered from various indefinite diseases were called in to consultation with an advisory doctor. Patients with a high degree of motivation were later examined by a doctor specialized in occupational diseases. Information on all patients was obtained from the company medical service, personnel managers, and the doctors who had prescribed sick leave for the patients. The survey unveiled a low degree of cooperation and communication between the various personnel responsible for the patients. Furthermore, little was known about rehabilitation programmes at the different places of work. Only half of the employers knew about such opportunities. This lack of cooperation clearly indicates a need of greater involvement on the part of all parties concerned with these patients and for schemes of follow-up. The creation of such schemes might be the first step towards new and better relationships between the different kinds of personnel concerned.