By Mary O’Donoghue, RN, Chief Operating Officer, MedRisk COVID-19 forced many workers’ compensation surgeries and post-surgical physical therapy to be put on hold. As services resume, what should the industry expect to see in physical medicine? In March, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) issued recommendations1 for managing elective surgical procedures to preserve U.S. health… [Read more]
Leaders Speak
Kim Radcliffe: Complex Care: It’s the Little Details that are Vital
By Kim Radcliffe, SVP of Clinical, One Call The workers’ compensation industry can learn a thing or two from legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden who said, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” I have certainly experienced how the “details” can make all the difference for an injured… [Read more]
Thomas Warsop: The New Meaning of “End-to-End” Solutions
By Thomas Warsop, CEO, One Call When your company’s mission is to provide injured workers with the support they need to return to work and life, you painstakingly think through all aspects to get them there. From the most common needs such as physical therapy, diagnostics and transportation to more specific solutions such as bio-psychosocial… [Read more]
Jesse Shade: Securing Data During COVID-19 and Beyond
By Jesse Shade, Vice President, Information Technology, Tower MSA Partners Heightened cybersecurity threats during the COVID-19 pandemic called for tighter security measures that should become best practices that outlive the coronavirus. The U.S. saw cyberattacks peak on April 7, 2020 with a total of 1,417,827 attacks, according to an Atlas VPN report. Comparing the periods… [Read more]
Jesse Shade: COVID-19 Response Triggers Cybersecurity Threats to Workers’ Comp
By Jesse Shade, Vice President, Information Technology, Tower MSA Partners The workers’ compensation industry quickly responded to the coronavirus by moving operations from offices to employee homes. While allowing workers’ compensation companies to seamlessly transition their services, these changes have unleashed cyberattacks by actors spreading their own version of a virus. Computer viruses are targeting… [Read more]
Tammy Bradly: To Help Injured Workers, Focusing on Social Determinants of Health Is More Important Than Ever
By Tammy Bradly, VP Clinical Product Development Coventry In the last five years terms such as advocacy, engagement, coaching, and even “whole-person approach” have been much talked about within workers’ compensation — for good reason. Each of these touches on the need to treat each injured worker as an individual with unique challenges and perspectives.… [Read more]
Leanne Bronold: Pandemic Protocol: Work Comp Guidelines for COVID-19
By Leanne Bronold, Clinical Guidelines Manager, Genex Services In recent weeks, health care professionals have looked to the CDC and WHO for guidance on how to best treat the evolving coronavirus pandemic. However, for workers’ comp professionals, few standards are available that focus on issues most pertinent to their industry and the needs of injured… [Read more]
Richard Leonardo: When Red Flags Appear, IMEs Provide Insight to Take the Next Step on a Claim
By Richard Leonardo, Senior VP of IME and Specialty Services, Genex Services Even in midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, independent medical examinations (IMEs) remain an important part in moving claims forward and making sure the injured worker is on the right path to recovery. For this reason, it’s imperative that workers’ comp professionals stay vigilant… [Read more]
Sandy Shtab: Regulatory Acceleration in Response to COVID-19
By Sandy Shtab, AVP of Advocacy and Compliance, Healthesystems Our industry, like many others has been significantly impacted by the National State of Emergency related to COVID-19. Though the full impact to injured workers is not yet fully known as things continue to change, we do know there has been a concerted effort by many… [Read more]
Dr. Silvia Sacalis: Keeping up With Complexity: 3 Evolving Clinical Trends in Workers’ Comp
By Silvia Sacalis, PharmD, Vice President of Clinical Services, Healthesystems Workers’ comp has grown more complex as the care and conditions we manage continue to evolve, and industry professionals are taking notice. Healthesystems partnered with Risk & Insurance magazine to conduct the 2020 Workers’ Comp Industry Insights Survey, collecting the opinions of 669 workers’ comp… [Read more]