FCE - Functional Capacity Evaluation Functional capacity evaluation is defined as “a systematic method of measuring an individual’s ability to perform meaningful tasks on a safe and dependable basis.” FCE includes all impairments, not just those that result in physical functional limitations. In general, the purpose of FCE is to collect information about the functional limitations of a person with medical impairment. Beyond this general purpose, FCE has three specific purposes: 1. Improve the likelihood that the patient will be safe in subsequent job task performance. A comparison of a patient’s abilities to a job’s demands is made in an attempt to diminish the risk of re-injury associated with a mismatch. Shortfalls between the patient’s resources and the environment’s demands result in stress or increased risk for injury. 2. Assist the patient to improve role performance through identification of functional decrements so that they may be resolved or worked around. Health care professionals use this information to triage patients into proper treatment programs and to measure progress. 3. Determine the presence (and, if present, the degree) of disability so that a bureaucratic or juridical entity can assign, apportion, or deny financial and medical disability benefits.