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Please visit frequently for news, insights and advice relevant to the operation of high-quality, cost-effective occupational health programs and medical practices. This site is sponsored by the NAOHP and RYAN Associates, specialists in occupational health program development and professional education: www.naohp.com

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Fixing the Workers' Comp System

Mark Walls, assistant vice president-claims at Safety National and the moderator of a Linked-In Workers' Compensation Analysis Group, is asking: "What changes would you make to improve the workers' compensation system?"

"Keep in mind that in order for this to work, it must be fair to all parties involved (employers, workers, etc)," he says. "Suggestions such as 'raising' or 'lowering' benefits gets us nowhere. Workers' compensation is a compromise that must protect the interests of everyone involved."

In a response posted today, Jamie Stark, Ph.D., who analyzes outcome data for payers, suggests creating a platform for true data sharing. "There are two realities going on here - the medical process and the business process," she writes. "You cannot take business process data and force fit a model of what happened medically.... bad data means we try to manage a process we don't even have an understanding of. No one would expect to navigate the back hills of the Carolinas with a map of Kansas, but in WC we do it every day and wonder why we're lost." 

Post your comments here and we will pass them on to the Work Comp Analysis Group. Members of the group would benefit from hearing the medical provider perspective.

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