At the 2017 Comp Laude educational event a panel discussed how to evolve your claims model to be more focused on being an advocate for injured workers. The panel included: Rachel Fikes – Rising Medical Solutions (moderator) Denise Algire – Albertson’s Company Darrell Brown – Sedgwick John Riggs – Disneyland Resorts Advocacy means taking a […]

At the 2017 Comp Laude education event, a panel discussed the need to look beyond opioids for the treatment of chronic pain. The panel included: Kimberly George – Sedgwick (moderator) Beth Darnall, PhD – Stanford University Steve Stanos, DO – Swedish Medical Group James Atchison, DO – Shirley Ryan Ability Lab These speakers are some […]

At the 2017 Comp Laude Gala, Kimberly George from Sedgwick hosted a conversation with Dr. Robert Pearl, former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group. Under Dr. Pearl’s leadership he had responsibility for 35,000 staff, 9,000 physicians, and the care of 4 million Kaiser Permanente members on the east and west coasts. The discussion focused on […]

At the 2017 IAIABC Annual Convention, a session discussed the challenges and potential of medical marijuana in workers’ compensation. The speakers were: Matthew Fisher – Partner, Reinisch, Wilson, Weier PC Sherry Hickey – Assistant Vice President of Medical Management, Safety National One of the first challenges with medical marijuana is the conflict between state and […]

At the 2017 IAIABC Annual Convention, Curtis Weber with High Voltage Consulting shared his story as a severely injured worker who went on to become a safety trainer and consultant. Curtis was just a normal kid from a small town in Saskatchewan, Canada. He was active and sports loving. At age 17, he had passed […]

At the 2017 IAIABC Annual Conference Michele Hibbert-Iaobacci from Mitchell International gave a presentation on how telemedicine can change workers’ compensation. The need for telemedicine on the healthcare side is highlighted by the shortage of physicians which is continually getting worse. Telemedicine allows patients in both rural and populated areas to easily see doctors. This […]

At the IAIABC Annual Convention, Nicholas Trego, Clinical Operations Manager with the Ohio Bureau of Worker’s Compensation discussed their strategies to reduce inappropriate opioid consumption on claims. The State of Ohio is the monopolistic workers’ compensation carrier. The program started in 2014 when they gained access to the Ohio PDMP. This allowed them to access […]

At the 2017 International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC) Annual Convention, workers’ compensation regulators from around the nation discussed regulatory and policy issues in their jurisdiction. New Mexico Just filed a 16% decrease in workers’ compensation rates. They are getting push back on that from carriers who feel it is excessive and […]

At the 2017 California Workers’ Compensation and Risk Conference, a panel discussed how ride sharing services can assist in providing transportation on worker’s compensation claims. The speakers included: Joseph McCullough – Senior VP of Transportation and Translation, One Call Care Management Nadir Vissanjy – Strategy Manager for Healthcare, Government & Education Partnerships, Lyft, Inc. America’s […]

At the 2017 California Workers’ Compensation and Risk Conference, a panel discussed using social media as a claims investigation tool and also the importance of performance metrics in evaluating your program. The speakers included: Steve Cassell – President & CEO, Command Investigations LLC Andy Olwert – President, Next Level Administrators Beth Savelli – Risk Manager, […]