You ran the numbers. It seemed clear: expanding your practice to perform Functional Capability Evaluations (FCEs) is cost-prohibitive. Laying out your budget, you probably started with the high-end equipment. However, you found that treadmills, weight machines, and all the accompanying accessories can add up to the tens of thousands of dollars. Not to mention the cost of additional space to make room for all this equipment.
Many FCE software companies would have you believe all of this expensive equipment is absolutely necessary if you want to perform FCEs. After all, they’re the ones who want to sell that equipment in the first place!
Performing an FCE with WebFCE, on the other hand, requires NO specialized or expensive equipment. Instead, your FCE equipment cost with WebFCE could be negligible – thanks to our simple and flexible equipment requirements.
A Typical FCE vs. WebFCE
If you were to perform a typical FCE, you’d need to do it in a traditional physical therapy office or similar medical space equipped with PT equipment: treadmills, weight machines, and other heavy fitness-related apparati. However, specialized equipment doesn’t necessarily provide an accurate basis for evaluation with regard to functional capacity – especially when it’s work related. Moreover, heavy equipment traps the traditional FCE in a single, static space.
Enter WebFCE, which provides clinicians a quick yet comprehensive way to perform FCEs. Our software uses simple tools you likely already have in your clinic. Yet it still delivers results just as comprehensive as any competitor’s.
We designed WebFCE to allow you a greater flexibility in performing FCEs. The easy-to-address standard requirements of the evaluation mean you can fit the WebFCE to your unique needs.
Our FCE software travels where you do – so you can perform an FCE at a gym, physical therapy office, or in an empty office space or area. You can purchase the simple required equipment from medical supply stores, hardware stores, or online portals like Amazon. You can also utilize your own equipment so long as they meet the battery criteria. We require only simple tools: a pull sled, lifting boxes, balls, a briefcase or backpack. You likely already have them in your clinic.
Try Out WebFCE Today
WebFCE offers several straightforward payment plans designed to fit your unique needs and budget. Our FCEs cost as little as $50 per test – far lower than other vendors – and without a specialized FCE equipment cost.
Try out our software demo or give us a call at (833) 327-8323
WebFCE’s Required Equipment
Weight scale
Tape measure or yardstick
Heart rate monitor (HR App to blood pressure cuff, etc)
Blood pressure monitor or cuff
Standard chair (no cushions), approx. 46 cm in height
Weights ranging from 1-10 lbs
Lifting box or milk crate
8-foot shelf with adjustable shelf heights
Push/pull sled or cart with locking wheels
2 x 4 piece of wood
Set of stairs or step stool
Standard pinch gauge
Small nuts and bolts or coins
Hot pack (warm cloth), cold pack (cold cloth), piece of sandpaper, piece of cotton cloth
For practitioners looking to start providing Functional Capability Evaluations (FCEs), the first question usually has to do with procuring FCE equipment. It’s almost always the same:
“How much will this set me back?”
The answer, surprisingly, could be, “Not much.”
You may already have access to physical or occupational therapy equipment. Or perhaps you’re looking to simply conduct evaluations at work sites. In either scenario, WebFCE will likely cost you a fraction of what other FCE vendors would. It’s all thanks to our cost-effective equipment requirements, which utilize simple tools you likely already have in your clinic.
The Typical FCE
Most typical FCEs must be performed in a static location – such as a physical therapy clinic – where examiners can access heavy equipment. Treadmills, weight machines, are expensive as they are prohibitive. Moreover, specialized equipment doesn’t always mean better results. In fact, they’re often incapable of capturing the nuanced movements particular to certain occupational specialties.
On the other hand, there’s WebFCE.
Cutting Equipment Costs with WebFCE
WebFCE provides clinicians a fast, comprehensive and easy way to perform FCEs. Our equipment requirements are simple, using basic items to perform a variety of functions. This allows for a wide amount of flexibility and creativity, while still keeping equipment costs down.
WebFCE does not require specific or specialized measuring tools. You are free to use industrial crates, carts, stairs, a treadmill or free weights to conduct a variety of tests – from range of motion to dexterity to lifting. As long as the equipment supports the standard and objective criteria required for the evaluation, you can use it as part of your FCE.
Best of all, because the software travels where you do, you can perform an FCE at a gym, physical therapy office, or in an empty office space or area. No need to invest large sums of money into specialized equipment. You can quickly learn and easily perform FCEs – anywhere!
We designed WebFCE both for healthcare professionals considering implementing FCEs in their practice and those who are already performing FCEs. Take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about the details of our innovative FCE solutions.
A functional capacity evaluation (FCE) is a comprehensive evaluation used to help physicians, employers, case managers, insurance companies, and lawyers establish a patient’s functional abilities and whether it is safe for someone to return to work.
An FCE contains performance-based tests that help determine a person’s ability to work, as well as their level of functioning or residual functional abilities.
What Does an FCE Measure?
An FCE measures a person’s ability to perform work-related or functional tasks. It also predicts a person’s potential to perform these tasks over a certain period of time. The set of tests measure endurance, strength, physical capability, work level, and positional tolerance.
The results of an FCE are used to make decisions regarding a person’s ability to return to work or to resume work activities. It is also used to determine eligibility for disability and to design a plan for rehabilitation.
What Are the Benefits of an FCE?
Using monitored medical standards, an FCE helps interested parties assess return-to-work capabilities, determine eligibility for disability, and determine liabilities. The data that is collected from this evaluation helps define the physical capabilities of an injured employee objectively.
What Are an FCE’s Specific Uses?
The results of FCE testing are used for a multitude of reasons, including:
Disability evaluation or determination
Sports- or work-related injury or illness
On-the-job prevention of injury
MMI (maximum medical improvement) assessment for chronic injury or illness
Pre-employment screening
Job placement decisions
Return-to-work determination
Intervention and treatment planning
Case management/case closure
What Types of Tests Are Included in an FCE?
There are many tests that are used during a functional capacity evaluation, including:
Strength testing
Balance and sensory testing
Functional testing
Gross and fine motor testing
Standardized testing
Cardiorespiratory fitness testing
Full-time work tolerance testing
Outcome testing
Consistency of effort
There are also optional testing components that allow an evaluator to customize the evaluation to fit the needs of the referring physician, lawyer, or case manager.
What Is the Latest in FCE Technology?
In the past, performing FCEs at your clinic may not have been possible because of financial or staffing limitations. However, new technology such as webFCE does not require downtime, expensive equipment, or costly staff training.
webFCE is a HIPAA-compliant, web-based software program that is specially designed for healthcare professionals who are currently performing FCEs, or who want to do FCEs in the future. This new software is a simple, quick, and affordable way for a clinic to perform FCEs.
The software does most of the work by providing an in-depth report, saving hours of extra work for your staff.
Functional Capacity Evaluations for Your PT/OT Practice
webFCE is a revolutionary new software tool that makes it easy for your clinic to perform functional capacity evaluations.
Complicated and time-consuming FCEs are now a thing of the past. Click here to schedule a demo!
