At the 2020 WCRI Annual Issues & Research Conference, a panel discussed the importance of mental health for injured workers. The speakers were: Dr Leslie Boden – BU School of Public Health Francis Callahan, Jr – MA Building Trades Council Mary Christiansen – Southern California Edison Dr Kenneth Larsen – New England Baptist Hospital Dr […]

At the 2020 WCRI Annual Issues & Research Conference, Dr L. Casey Chosewood from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) talked about their efforts around total worker health. Total worker health is defined as policies, programs and practices that integrate protection from work-related safety and health hazards with promotion of injury and […]

At the 2020 WCRI Annual Issues and Research Conference, a session discussed key findings from various WCRI studies. The presenters were: Carol Telles – WCRI Dr Randall Lea – WCRI Dr Rebecca Yang – WCRI Trends in Hospital Inpatient Metrics Hospital inpatient payments accounted for 17% of total medical payments in the typical study state. […]

At the 2020 WCRI Annual Issues & Research Conference, Vennela Thumula with WCRI talked about their studies on opioid dispensing trends and alternatives for pain management. Between 2014 and 2018, they saw decreases in opioid prescribing in all study states. The biggest decreases were seen in California and New York which implemented new drug formularies […]

At the 2020 WCRI Annual Research & Issues Conference, Dr Bogdan Savych with WCRI discussed their study reviewing how injuries, claims and outcomes vary by age. The US population is aging. In 2000, around 13% of the population was over age 65. It is projected that by 2030 over 20% of the population will be […]

At the 2020 WCRI Annual Research & Issues Conference, a session discussed perceptions vs reality with regard to generational differences in the workplace. The presenter was Dr Jennifer Deal, Senior Research Scientist with Center for Creative Leadership. Her study surveyed 6000 millennials along with 7000 older professional, managerial and executive staff. The different generations highlighted […]

At the 2019 WCRI Annual Conference, Dr. John Ruser, WCRI, talked about the variety of factors contributing to the trend of workers’ compensation benefits being a declining share of the payroll. According to the National Academy of Social Insurance, the ratio of workers’ compensation benefits paid to total wages has dropped since the 1990s and […]

At the 2019 WCRI Annual Conference, a session discussed the challenges and opportunities of telemedicine. The panel was: Moderator: Dr. David Deitz, David Deitz & Associates Speakers: Ms. Amy Lee, Texas Department of Insurance Mr. Kurt Leisure, The Cheesecake Factory Mr. Dan Allen, Construction Industry Service Corporation (CISCO) Dr. Stephen Dawkins, Caduceus USA Telemedicine is […]

At the 2019 WCRI Annual Conference, a session discussed some of the latest findings and trends seen across WCRI’s core benchmark studies, including WCRI’s 18-state CompScope™ Benchmarks reports. The presenters were: Moderator: Ms. Ramona P. Tanabe, WCRI Speakers: Ms. Carol A. Telles, WCRI, Facility Costs and Use: Factors in Interstate Differences and Trends  Ms. Evelina Radeva, […]

At the 2019 WCRI Annual Conference, Dr. Olesya Fomenko, WCRI, discussed their study on how higher deductibles for group health plans may impact workers’ compensation claims activity. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study, the average group health plan deductible in 2008 was $765. In 2014 that number was $1217 and by 2017 that number […]