WorkCompRecap @expertsinwc Week of 1.29.18
Happy Friday! It’s February and Groundhog Day! Please follow on Twitter @workcomprecap. It’s been an interesting week. Please like and share! Comments and suggestions are welcomed!
William Zachry Twitter @wzachry Jumper Claims. The biggest cost drivers in workers compensation are:
- litigation
- lost time
- employer employee relationship
- the at risk employee
- opioids
- Fraud (California Post employment application first notice claims)
There is an interconnection between all of these. One really can not stand alone as a culprit to driving up costs. Employers have the capacity to impact all of these and those who have great relations with their employees have lower litigation rates and lower overall costs. 3% of the claims account for 60% of the dollars spent.
The goal is to identify these claims early and intervene to prevent the catastrophic claim or to settle those claims early to cut off the cost drivers. More from Bill Zachry on Jumper Claims here.
Joe Paduda Twitter @Paduda On the news this week of the Amazon / Berkshire Hathaway / JP Morgan healthcare initiative…Corporate America recognizes what people have long known – the health insurance and healthcare delivery system are dysfunctional, way too expensive, and the entities that got us in this situation won’t be the ones who get us out of it.
Yvonne Guibert Twitter @buzzystreet Automation and the workforce…a topic that is both fascinating and somewhat scary (to me) is the rapid pace at which automation is affecting the workforce. My friend Bill Zachry and I often discuss this topic. He is entirely optimistic about automation and how it will improve the work environment. I’m not so convinced what there is to be optimistic about. In my mind, the Terminator movie accurately depicts how computers and the human world will collide. A recent article from the Huffington Post titled “Workplace Automation is Happening, And Women Will Be Hit The Hardest,” got me thinking about this again, and it doesn’t paint such a rosy picture, especially for women. According to the article based on a recent analysis of US Jobs: 1.4 million jobs will be replaced by automation between now and 2026; nearly 60% of these jobs are held by women; cashiers and retail jobs, the two most common U.S. jobs, employ 7.8 million people of which nearly 74% are female. It’s retraining time folks…this is coming fast!
Christopher R. Brigham, MD Twitter @crbrigham The independent medical evaluation (IME) is an important component of the workers compensation, liability and disability arenas. Unfortunately, many IMEs are of poor quality and obtaining an excellent IME is difficult for many clients. High-quality IME reports that are based on thorough and accurate evaluations, are valuable and assist with appropriate case and litigation management and closure. Best practice standards for IMEs were published in the September – October issue of the AMA Guides Newsletter. These standards include: definition of IME and principles, examiner qualifications, evaluation methodology (pre-evaluation, evaluation, and post-evaluation), report structure, and quality assurance. Adherence to best practice standards, both by those requesting IMEs and those performing IMEs, is essential to achieving excellence. On February 14 (Valentine’s day) at 3:00 pm ET there will be a webinar on “IME Reports: Assuring Excellence!” with Christopher R. Brigham, MD, Brock Curry of Premier Physicians Management Company, LLC, and Les Kertay, PhD. Participants will receive a copy of the best practice standards for IMEs published in the Guides Newsletter.