Wellness, Safety, and Injury Response Reduce Workers’ Comp Costs

Sometimes, you are required to spend some money before you can make money. This is the same principle required when reducing workers’ compensation program costs. Interested stakeholders who invest in their employees will seek savings via better lifestyle choices that result in a healthier workforce. It will also mitigate the severity of work injuries and reduce their frequency. Now is the time to consider this investment through easy to implement steps.

Create and Encourage Wellness Programming

Countless studies have investigated whether wellness programs implemented by employers can reduce workers’ compensation costs. The evidence repeatedly indicates that effective wellness programs can reduce. One study shows that effective wellness programs lead to an average of a 30% decrease in workers’ compensation and disability management claims. Now is the time to consider this type of program in your workplace.

• Improves Workplace Safety: Programs that encourage workplace ergonomics, breaks to allow employees to stretch, and education on making healthy choices are a great way to start.

• Encourage Better Lifestyle Choices: Education regarding eating right, smoking cessation and elimination of smokeless tobacco, and counseling regarding alcohol and drug use drive better results. They allow employees to return to work after a work injury and improve self-esteem.

• Take on Dangerous Prescription Drugs: Employers can play a vital role in stopping the opioid-drug epidemic. Offering alternatives to using these powerful and dangerous drugs, such as pain management, physical therapy, acupuncture, and regular health screens, plays a crucial role in addressing this issue.

Employers can offer other health-conscious activities, such as participation in sports leagues and exercise programs. Consider making these programs optional. Injuries that result from participation in mandatory work-based programs can lead to a claim being made for workers’ compensation benefits.

Go Beyond the Basics with Safety Training

The importance of safety training cannot be stressed enough when it comes to investing in your workforce. This topic presents an opportunity to go beyond what is required by engraining it in your company’s culture – practiced by everyone regardless of pay or job title.

• Create a Safety Committee to Address Issues: A strong committee is the cornerstone of every workers’ compensation program. Every employee should be welcome to provide constructive feedback without fear of reprisal.

• Discuss Workplace Safety Daily: Safety should be the topic of every meeting within the organization. This can be a discussion point before every shift. Repetition and consistent messaging are key.

• Practice What You Preach: Everyone should practice safety – from top to bottom. This reinforces the message and ensures consistency.

Now is the time to ensure safety is a priority within your workplace. The above steps are easy to implement with proven results. Take the time to make it a part of your best practices to reduce workers’ compensation program cost reduction.

Post-Injury Response Reduces Costs

A best-in-class post-injury response also creates an opportunity to invest in your workforce and reduce workers’ compensation program costs. Now is the time to determine what can be done in your program to improve it for better results.

• Train all employees in first aid and ensure they have the tools and equipment to respond accordingly;

• Provide tools to report work injuries in a consistent and orderly manner via app and Internet based technology. This also improves the accuracy of information received following a work injury; and

• Invest in telephone nurse triage services. This can assist in better post-injury medical response and be used to report work injuries.

Reporting all work injuries should be encouraged. This includes educating their insureds on the importance of reporting all work injuries. Not only does it lead to better results and avoid litigation, but it is also the law.

Return to work efforts are also crucial in any post-injury response. Remember to include this step in your workers’ compensation improvement plan.

Conclusions

By investing in your workforce, now is the time to improve your workers’ compensation program. Money spent on these efforts is early recouped in terms of less money spent on litigation and claims. It includes simple steps via wellness programming, creating a workplace safety culture, and creating a better post-injury response. Taking the time, money, and effort improves workplace morale and increases the effectiveness of every workers’ compensation program.

Michael Stack, CEO of Amaxx LLC, is an expert in workers’ compensation cost containment systems and provides education, training, and consulting to help employers reduce their workers’ compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is co-author of the #1 selling comprehensive training guide “Your Ultimate Guide to Mastering Workers’ Comp Costs: Reduce Costs 20% to 50%.” Stack is the creator of Injury Management Results (IMR) software and founder of Amaxx Workers’ Comp Training Center. WC Mastery Training teaching injury management best practices such as return to work, communication, claims best practices, medical management, and working with vendors. IMR software simplifies the implementation of these best practices for employers and ties results to a Critical Metrics Dashboard.

Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.

Workers’ Comp Roundup Blog: http://blog.reduceyourworkerscomp.com/

Injury Management Results (IMR) Software: https://imrsoftware.com/

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