Broadspire Drug Abuse Summit and Other News from the Workers Comp Community

Broadspire Rx Summit

Danielle Lisenbey, chief operating officer for the Medical Management Services of Broadspire announced its first annual Rx Summit in Sunrise, FL March 22. As a leader in the industry, Broadspire's first Pharmacy Issues Summit should prove to be helpful. They write, “The purpose of the meeting will be to bring thought leaders from various organizations together to discuss relevant topics and issues surrounding pharmacy benefits in the workers compensation setting.

The intent is not to share the specifics of what various companies are doing, but rather to focus on the global industry issues themselves and what may be the possible trends and developments for the future. One key objective of the program will be to help to identify and define common threads that run through all components of the industry – across claimants, payors, employers and carriers.

Defining some of these commonalities will help the consumer to maneuver through the market. Each participant is invited to bring one operations executive and one clinical representative. This will be an opportunity to brainstorm and share ideas amongst industry peers that can help to influence positive impacts for all.”[WCx]

Email Mjaynes@choosebroadspire.com by March 15, 2012 for more information. The Summit is by invitation only.

Everything Business Corp! Magazine Tells how to Fuse Workplace Wellness Programs With Recovery

An article by Lisa Firestone addresses the way employers are continuing to struggle with a challenging economy. “Maximizing efficiency and productivity is no longer a goal to strive for, it is essential for continued growth and even survival,” she writes. “Recognizing this dynamic, it is not surprising that more and more employers are actively engaging in worksite wellness programs that have proven to be effective in lowering health care costs – in fact, according to American Journal of Health Promotion every $1 invested in a corporate wellness program returns $4 in reduced health care costs and $5 in reduced absenteeism over a period of three to five years.”

To read more on this topic, look here.

LexisNexis Communities Highlights Weekly WC Hot Stories

The Workers Compensation Law Community Powered by Larsons on LexisNexis offers this week three fascinating news articles:

1. The Defense of Intentional Self-Injury: Russian Roulette, Workplace Frustration, Accidental Drug Overdose, and More reviews Rashness Versus Intention in Self-Injury Cases, Impulsiveness Versus Intention in Self-Injury Cases and Suicide Test as Test for Self-Injury. It can be found here.

2. LHWCA: Responsible Employer Determination in Cases Involving Multiple Traumatic Injuries: Seeking Analytical Clarity is a thorough look at the same using relevant precedent, post-Albina board decisions, burden of proof; aggravation vs. natural progression: identifying the cause(s) of disability and sequential vs. simultaneous consideration of evidence. It can be found here.

3. Larson’s Spotlight on Recent Cases: Firefighter’s Rule Did Not Bar Tort Action against Homeowner examines the firefighters’ rule, an important exception to the usual third-party liability rules in which a firefighter (or other first responder) may not recover in tort from a landowner or occupier who has been negligent in starting or failing to curtail a fire. Read more here.

LexisNexis Editor Featured in Risk Management Magazine

Thomas A. Robinson, a contributing author and editor of LexisNexis resources including Larson's Workers Compensation Law and Workers Compensation: The Survival Guide for Business, wrote a fascinating article that was recently featured in the well-known RIMS magazine. Also a member of the LexisNexis National Workers Compensation Advisory Board, Robinson writes about 10 bizarre WC case that ended unexpectedly here.

The article is a great read and includes juicy stories such as what the courts decided when an obese employee broke a leg trying to get unstuck from a cafeteria booth, whether a construction worker who lost an eye trying to sledgehammer a found bowling ball on site and whether a fatal heart attack while holding a termination letter is still covered.

For more like it, sign up for the free weekly enewsletters in national and California editions by Robin Kobayashi here.

Need More, Faster WC Info? We have the Newsletter for You

Check out this LexisNexis newsletter that can keep you on top of what’s happening in our industry. Learn more here and sign up here.

Texas Department of Insurance Changes Pay Advance Form

The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation recently changed the form injured employees use to request pay advances on their WC settlement checks. The form, DWC Form-047, Employee’s Request for Advance of Benefits, and the DWC Form-053, Employee Request to Change Treating Doctor is for an injured employee to request an advance of his/her workers’ compensation income benefits. The DWC Form-053 is for an injured employee who is not part of a certified workers’ compensation health care network, and whose claim does not involve medical benefits provided through a political subdivision pursuant to §504.053(b)(2) of the Texas Labor Code, to request a change of treating doctor.[WCx]

Workers’ compensation system participants should use the revised DWC Form-047 or DWC Form-053 on and after March 7, 2012. Previous versions of the form will no longer be accepted after June 1, 2012. For more information, check here.

Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. She is the author of the #1 selling book on cost containment, Workers Compensation Management Program: Reduce Costs 20% to 50%. Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.

WORKERS COMP MANAGEMENT MANUAL: www.WCManual.com

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MODIFIED DUTY CALCULATOR: www.LowerWC.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php

Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.