EPIC Lift Capacity Certification Questions
- Why is it necessary to get training and become certified?
- How do I become certified?
- Why is an EPIC Lift Capacity site license necessary?
- Why is it necessary to buy equipment rather than make my own?
- How is quality control for the EPIC Lift Capacity maintained?
All responses by L. N. Matheson, PhD
- 1. Why is it necessary to get training and become certified?
Training and certification are an important step in quality control. Evaluators routinely report that the first few times they administer the EPIC Lift Capacity, they are unsure of themselves and find it quite challenging. It is best for this to occur during the certification process with properly screened healthy volunteers, so that by the time a real client is tested, the evaluator’s skills are up to par. Also, thus far, no EPIC Lift Capacity certified evaluators have had their certificates revoked. However, it is possible for EpicRehab to do so, which serves to assure all of us who depend on the excellent reputation of the EPIC Lift Capacity that others who use it will not abuse it and cause difficulties for the rest of us.
Certification also assures all clients that their evaluator is competent to perform this evaluation. It assures purchasers of EPIC Lift Capacity services, such as physicians, attorneys and insurance carriers that the evaluator will provide a professional level of service. And, it provides the evaluator his or her first line of defense in the event that a professional liability lawsuit is filed. Evaluators who cannot prove that they are competent to perform an evaluation are in difficult straits if a lawsuit were filed.
If an EPIC Lift Capacity provider in your area is not certified, contact EpicRehab and be sure to inform your referrers that this is not acceptable.
- 2. How do I become certified?
Certification requires that you complete a one-day training course on use of the EPIC Lift Capacity, pass a written exam, and perform 5 test-retest exams on healthy volunteers using site-licensed equipment. The training workshops are offered frequently in various locations throughout the United States and Canada.
- 3. Why is an EPIC Lift Capacity site license necessary?
To provide quality control by limiting the EPIC Lift Capacity to be used only with equipment that is standardized. If an EPIC Lift Capacity provider in your area is not site licensed, contact EpicRehab and be sure to inform your referrers that this is not an acceptable standard of practice.
- 4. Why is it necessary to buy equipment rather than make my own?
For several reasons. It is difficult to standardize equipment over several sites, which would limit the inter-rater reliability that has been established for the EPIC Lift Capacity. It is risky for the evaluee, in that a fracture in a handle or an unstable shelf can cause injury. It is also risky for the evaluator. If an injury occurs using nonstandard equipment, the plaintiff’s attorney will make that an important point of criticism.
- 5. How is quality control for the EPIC Lift Capacity maintained?
First, EpicRehab has a United States patent for the “evaluation of the work capacity of injured people” that covers the EPIC Lift Capacity. This patent is enforceable in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Europe, Australia and Japan. Second, if an equipment maker wants to use the EPIC Lift Capacity, it must reach an agreement with EpicRehab to do so. EpicRehab receives a license fee from the manufacturer. Without such a contract, use of the EPIC Lift Capacity is illegal.
The legal equipment manufacturer is RMA. Through their equipment manufacturers, EPIC Lift Capacity purchasers are provided a site license that allows legal use of the EPIC Lift Capacity at their clinic, just like computer software is licensed. These agreements require that all EPIC Lift Capacity users become formally trained and certified.
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