As most of you probably know, the National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference & Expo takes place November 18^th-20^th in Chicago. If you are attending the show, be sure to stop by our booth and say hi—and enter to win a great prize. A lucky visitor is going to win a new “Nook,” Barnes & Nobles’  just released electronic book reader, one of the hottest gadgets on the market.  It wouldn’t be a real Expo without a few choice giveaways, now would it?

First, let’s be clear that we love Chicago. Great restaurants, beautiful architecture, nearly selected to host the 2016 Olympics (okay, they were expecting better than 4^th out of 4 finalists), and great weather if you happen to be there between June 25 and June 30^th…. really the only five days in which you can confidently avoid one of the following– tornados, extreme humidity, frigid cold or endless snow. Since the Expo is in November, we think we’ll be spending as much time indoors as possible.

We are looking forward to attending and will share our thoughts with you via a post when we return. But for now, we’d like to give you a quick preview of some of the hot topics.

The Recession will have a starring role: At least seven of the information sessions address the Big R. Here’s a sampling:

Overcoming Claims Challenges During Economic Turmoil

Solutions to Your Recession-related IDM Challenges

What to Do With Injured Workers When There’s No Job for Them

Strategies to Address Medical Challenges in an Ailing Economy

Of course, each session requires a description and must have its unique spin to draw in the crowds. Here’s just a few:

The current economic crisis has created many unanticipated challenges at a time when organizations are short-staffed.

The economic crisis has impacted the workers’ comp system in myriad ways — including return-to-work programs.

Economic recessions can have surprising impacts on employee absences, including incidental absence and short-term disability. Stressors, including fear of job loss, lead some people to keep working when they may need time away to address health and wellness issues.

You could have the best return-to-work program in the world, but what if there’s no longer any job for the injured worker to return to?

Mercifully, the Expo organizers are providing comic relief via Second City, Chicago’s Famous Improvisational Comedy Troupe to prevent attendees from grabbing a cab to Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower—second tallest building in the world) and……

We’re not making fun of the tough economy—it’s still rough out there, but it is not all gloom and doom. That’s why we are heartened by this session that caught our eye.

Reducing Workers’ Comp and Disability Costs Through Wellness Programs: The 10 Essential Characteristics

We know that wellness programs have had a positive impact on healthcare costs and we’re interested in learning more about how the same principles are being applied to workers’ comp.

Another session that piqued our interest is:

Staying True to Your Soul: Making Tough Business Decisions You Can Live With

Anything that recommends staying true to one’s soul is good by us!

Be sure to come back to our blog AFTER the show for our report on some of the keys “pearls” we picked up in Chi-Town—weather permitting.

The Recession. Turn on the television. Pick up a newspaper. Visit a news website. It’s everywhere. These days the news is grim. So, we were in the mood for a little good news and went back in time and revisited a great 2005 report from the Stay-at-Work & Return-to-Work Committee of the American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine. It’s all about helping people stay employed by preventing needless work disability—now who doesn’t want that?

The committee is comprised of specialists in emergency medicine, family practice, internal medicine, occupational medicine, orthopedics and psychiatry. Its members work in Canada and in 15 U.S. states.

We applaud the report because the conclusions share many of our same philosophies like:

1. Ensure that the right things happen during the first few days of work absence

2. Unless complete work avoidance is medically required for protection of the worker, co-worker or the public, look for ways to reduce or prevent absence from work. Giving them an opportunity to contribute in some way to the company, fellow employees or the community can go a long way towards their recovery and return to the job

3. Do not underestimate the impact of common courtesy. A little sympathy, or empathy can make a big difference. An illness or injury can cause significant disruption to their daily lives. Failure to acknowledge the distress can lead to trouble

So who’s responsible for all of this?

A)    The employer

B)    The physician

C)    The case manager

The answer? All of the above. We know that accomplishing this takes an investment—more time really than money. A good start is with managers at the worker’s company. Some basic training is a solid first step—how to respond to an injury or illness and how to show that they and their company care about that person. Trust us, a small time investment can have a big payoff.

And what about the doctor?

As the report states, “Until now, mitigating the impact of illness on everyday life and work—with the goal of preventing needless disability, preserving function, and protecting quality of life—has not been within the traditional purview of medicine. The committee thought it was time to broaden the scope.” In fact, the tone of the report was very clear. Traditional medical approaches to treating injured workers were insufficient and limiting. It needed to change—the old way wasn’t cutting it. Their message is crystal clear. “When treatment of an injury or illness is structured with the goal of minimizing its impact on the worker’s quality of life, the healing is much more complete.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Fast forward four years and take a look at the progress-or lack thereof. Not a lot of strides have been made—yet. It’s a process. But there has been some progress. We see it every day, and we do our part to educate employers about fast response and the universal benefit of remaining human throughout the recovery process.

Now, back to the economy. In a climate where companies are expected to do more with less and managing expenses is a key to survival, we’re seeing a greater focus on disability management—and that’s a very good thing—for everybody.

All of us are familiar with the old adage “The grass is not always greener on the other side” maybe even said it ourselves.

Today as I look back over the last year, for me, the grass was indeed greener—think of the stunning green grass you see at the Masters in Augusta and you get the picture.

You see, I was happy at my last job. I loved the company. I loved my colleagues. I loved my clients. Just a big love fest. I wasn’t looking for anything else because I thought I was happy and content just where I was.

Then this past July, I was invited to make a change and join a company whose thought process, passion and vision blew me away.  But I was scared.

Changing companies meant new colleagues, new management, new office, new break room with new coffee. OMG what if they are not coffee drinkers… Hear me when I say I understand.

So, being the list maker that I am, I created one to help me decide if I should embrace this life change.

The top 3 on the list were:

1. The new company’s vision is most like my own personal life mission

2. My value does not start or stop with the title on my card and the numbers of hours I spend in an office

3. I no longer want the quantity of my work to determine the quality of my relationships

I’m sure by now you know that I decided to take the leap of faith and make the change. My friends and family consistently say how much happier I seem to be.

For me, finding true happiness is the best reason of them all to check out the other side. Perhaps you should too—and if you are as fortunate as I, you’ll find the grass will be just as lush as the fairways at Augusta!

Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’.

If you are a Bob Dylan fan you know this song by heart. Prefer a different genre?  That’s okay, but don’t miss the message as it pertains to the workers’ comp industry.  At least from our perspective, we are beginning to see real changes—particularly from the employer perspective.

More than ever, employers are actively choosing their CM partner and they are pushing for more transparency on the revenue relationships between TPAs, insurance companies and case management providers.  In a recent post on his blog, industry insider Joe Paduda addressed the issue by posing important questions he believes employers should be asking. (http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001633.html).

For years now we have struggled with how best to navigate through what we consider to be a fairly dubious revenue strategy imposed on CM partners by TPAs.  In many cases, we are asked to provide some type of “revenue sharing” in order to be added to their list of approved vendors.  That just doesn’t seem right—given that our industry really should be about partnership between those providers that deliver the most consistent results.

If the ultimate goal is to safely return the injured workers to the job at the lowest cost to the employers then results are all that matter.  When case managers do their jobs properly and manage cases with that key goal in mind versus measuring success by the number of hours billed, employers take notice.  Their filter for choosing the best resources is pretty simple—achieving the best outcome as safely and economically as possible.

We have to wonder if TPAs and insurance companies see what we are seeing—that the case management firms with the best results/outcomes are the ones being embraced by employers and ultimately make the best partners.  We think that the days of “pay to play” in order for a case management provider to be included on the vendor list should be replaced by a “results” model for working together.

We have loads of data and lots of interesting facts to share about what drives performance yet have not had a single TPA ask us about our results.  The more we speak with employers and educate them about the industry, the more they request information on our results because of their impact on the bottom line.  We suspect that in the near future we’ll be receiving similar requests from TPAs because their clients will demand it.

Yes, the times they are a-changin’ and you better start swimming—or if you don’t know how, you better start taking lessons if you don’t want to drown.

Between 24 hour news, Twitter, Facebook and the onslaught of never-ending emails it is virtually impossible to escape the constant interruptions. Given that reality, then why exactly are we launching an Integrated Care Management blog?

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