This is how it is evaluated by INSS

to equip Sick leave due to the so-called “ongoing virus” She has more difficulties than managing sick leave due to other illnesses. The large number of symptoms and their prevalence makes it difficult to diagnose and thus the work of the medical inspectors responsible for monitoring this type of cases.

From the Professional Association of Social Security Medical Residents (Apromess) confirm it medical writing that when issuing an evaluation of patients in this case, They follow as evidence a document promoted by the Spanish Association of Specialists in Occupational Medicine. This document analyzes the most common and significant symptoms of ongoing COVID-19 disease and their functional assessment, which serves as a guide for clinician assessment.

Reducing symptoms with occupational repercussions

The document highlights these sign of illness which are taken into account, because of their frequency and “the impact they can have on occupational health” Limits and may have an impact on job performance. On a physical level, fatigue, asthenia, shortness of breath, loss of voice, cough and joint pain are distinguished. On a psychological level, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress disorder stand out. Finally, in the nervous field they mention “mental fog”, headaches and epileptic seizures. General malaise, muscle aches and loss of smell are also covered.

Given the ambiguous nature of some of these symptoms, the question arises whether a disease like The ongoing coronavirus may prolong some victims for longer than necessary. When comparing the actual and ‘optimal’ duration of sick leave due to different health problems, those based on objective markers or data deviate almost nothing from those Theoretical durationswhile those that result from symptom-based or self-referential problems deviate much more,” they explain from Apromess. Thus, the general rule they follow is that sick leave must be extended, or not always appropriate” for symptom severity and the work being done to the injured person.

They point out from the association that though The evaluation criteria for COVID-19 have changed since the start of the pandemicBecause of the different legal and health scenarios that existed at the time, in infections caused by persistent virus “the evaluation criteria are very similar, if not similar.”

Partial medical discharge

This way, medical inspectors can refer to the document when they are wondering if the leave due to the ongoing coronavirus should expire. The document itself acknowledges this It is not easy to assess a person’s job limitations and work efficiency in these situations He leaves a procedure when symptoms persist, but existing restrictions no longer hold him back: “partial medical discharge from work.” They stress that it is “the best decision for a worker suffering from Covid-19 disease, and the best way to ensure health monitoring. Partial layoffs should be facilitated for preventive and effective integration, temporarily reducing demands on time and physical and mental burden.” The ultimate goal of this protocol is to assist and Facilitate decision making It is useful for working doctors and for primary care and medical examinations.

Finally, the recommendation is to establish a Data collection methodology In order to obtain sufficient precedents and information to facilitate the work of the evaluators regarding future cancellation of these properties. It asks to indicate, other than personal and health data, “whether proficiency, adaptation or non-adaptation, as well as development in return to work for at least the following year, has been recognized”.