Functional Capacity Evaluation
What is Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)?
Functional Capacity Evaluation is a full body medical evaluation that measures a patient’s functional capacity and assists in managing injuries. The FCE test may be used to record existing impairments or may be used with the Post-Offer Comprehensive test as a comparison against original, baseline information.
A FCE should be performed at the time of injury to determine the severity and legitimacy for total injury management. Another FCE should be completed during rehabilitation to measure the progress. A final functional capacity evaluation should be conducted post-rehabilitation to decide if the employee is able to return to their job.
At the time of injury, when compared against data previously collected, the FCE may be used to prove consistency and validity of performance and create realistic, objective rehabilitation goals, return to work recommendations, or work conditioning programs to capitalize on injury management procedures.