At the 2018 WCRI Annual Issues & Research Conference, Terrence Welsh MD, Chief Medical Officer for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation discussed their efforts to decrease inappropriate opioid prescribing in Ohio. Ohio has a monopolistic state fund, meaning if you are not self-insured you are insured by the state. Pharmacy management is done in-house. […]

At the WCRI Annual Issues & Research Conference, Randall Lea MD from Alice Peck Day Hospital discussed value-based care. They have been working on a study of value-based care and the workers’ compensation industry. Value-based care has been gaining traction on the group health side but not in workers’ compensation. Study participants included medical providers, […]

At the 2018 WCRI Annual Issues & Research Conference, Dr. Erica Groshen, former Commissioner of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics discussed labor market conditions. The United States has added 9.8 million jobs since the prior peak in January 2008. While there have been some monthly fluctuations, the overall trend has been steadily upward. Over […]

Comorbid conditions are complicating injured worker recovery. This session at the 2017 National Workers’ Compensation & Disability Conference outlined the scope of comorbidity challenges facing employers and strategies to combat them. Speakers included: Eric Patten, Senior Director of Clinical, One Call Care Management Richard Graham, Director Workers’ Compensation, SEPTA Obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart […]

This session at the 2017 National Workers’ Compensation & Disability Conference offered a behind-the-scenes look at how to build a relationship with third-party administrators (TPA) that drives claims results. Speakers included: Caroline Burhenne, Regional Client Service Manager, PMA Companies Caryl Russo, Senior Vice President Corporate Care, RWJBarnabas Health To create an effective partnership, both employer […]

Workers’ compensation is not immune to the disruptive technologies impacting nearly every industry and line of insurance. In this session at the 2017 National Workers’ Compensation & Disability Conference, Jeffrey Austin White, Senior Vice President of Workers’ Compensation Product Management at Gallagher Bassett, offered insights on the technologies and social trends that will likely impact […]

This session at the 2017 National Workers’ Compensation & Disability Conference featured workers’ compensation program concepts from Risk & Insurance’s 2017 Teddy Award winners. The Valley Health System Barbara Schultz, Director, Employee Health and Wellness Establishing Active Shooter Training Valley Health is a regional healthcare system with over 5,000 employees. One of their largest exposures […]

A high-performance workers’ compensation program requires managing outside vendors and effectively coordinating their service offerings with the employer’s internal resources to improve the injured worker’s experience and case outcomes. In this session at the 2017 National Workers’ Compensation & Disability Conference, a panel of claims experts provided a targeted approach to get the most out […]

The myth surrounding workers’ compensation predictive analytics is that the analytics solve all problems. Sure analytics present the red flags, but they do not provide solutions until you do something with them. This session at the 2017 National Workers’ Compensation & Disability Conference illustrated how to effectively use predictive analytics once they have been collected. […]

At Nordstrom, injured-worker advocacy is not a recent strategy. Over the years, this retailer has worked to perfect its customer-focused approach to engage injured workers and advocate for their care. At the 2017 National Workers’ Compensation & Disability Conference, Janine Kral, Vice President of Risk Management at Nordstrom, described how the company’s practices have evolved […]