Leaders Speak

By Dr. Mitch Freeman, Pharm.D., Chief Clinical Officer The ripple effects of 2020 will be felt for years to come. COVID-19 was the stone thrown in the water and every other aspect of public health is now feeling its effect. Recent research from Virginia Commonwealth University found that “for every two deaths attributed to COVID-19… [Read more]

By Kate Farley-Agee, Vice President, Network Products, Coventry Mental-health challenges present numerous hurdles for injured workers even in “normal” times. Now, because of the extraordinary fallout from the pandemic, it’s imperative to ensure that injured workers obtain access to high-quality mental-health assistance when it’s needed. For years now, we’ve understood that anxiety and depression threaten… [Read more]

By Tammy Bradly, VP Clinical Product Development, Coventry When someone gets hurt on the job, the workers’ compensation system is often adept at zeroing in on an injury and delivering timely care. But that well-intentioned focus on a patient’s physical bruises can make it easy to miss the mental ones, which might be harder to… [Read more]

By Mariellen Blue, National Director of Case Management and Tim Howard, Senior Vice President, Field Case Management at Genex Services Today, payers will often leverage the clinical expertise of case managers to ensure their catastrophic cases get the specialized care and attention they require, as well as any other services the injured employee may need… [Read more]

By Carlos Cordova, Director of Operations , Priority Care Solutions, a division of Genex Services In workers’ compensation, catastrophic claims often require a significant number and various types of ancillary services – anything from a rehabilitation facility, DME, transportation, home health services and more. An ancillary service provider can assist with a catastrophic injury response… [Read more]

By Anita Jovic, RN, BSN, MBA, Vice President Clinical Operations, HomeCare Connect While the number of workers’ compensation claims for workers who have become seriously ill with COVID-19 are thankfully low, the severity of these claims will be high. These could include workers who contract COVID-19 on the job as well as injured workers exposed… [Read more]

By Teresa Williams, MSW, LCSW, Managing Partner, HomeCare Connect Mental health is getting hammered by COVID-19. More than 36 percent of US adults are showing symptoms of depression or anxiety during the pandemic; that’s up from 11 percent in 2019. The American Academy of Clinical Psychologists have seen high rates of suicide. Nearly 11% considered… [Read more]

By Elijah Marentette, Senior Vice President of Account Management, myMatrixx Last week, my colleague David Dubrof shared some important insights on the so-called “transparent” pricing models that some newer entrants to the pharmacy benefit management (PBM) arena are touting as an innovation in the field. He is absolutely correct that all payers need to stay… [Read more]

By David Dubrof, Chief Sales Officer, myMatrixx Cost transparency continues to be a watchword in the PBM industry, and this certainly extends to the workers’ compensation space. But although the term implies clarity in cost, it doesn’t always equate to clarity in overall value. Make no mistake, the larger conversation about transparency in pricing for… [Read more]

By Kate Farley-Agee, Vice President, Network Products, Coventry Recovery is a word we use a lot in workers’ compensation. It’s a simple term with a sometimes equally straightforward path to its end. A repetitive strain injury might require physical therapy and time to heal. Yet when it comes to treating an opioid use disorder, the… [Read more]