Using Data to Strengthen Your Provider Relationships

Numbers don’t replace relationships — but they can make them stronger. In today’s workers’ compensation landscape, employers have access to more data than ever before, yet few use it to manage their provider partnerships effectively.

When harnessed correctly, data becomes a bridge between employers and medical providers, turning opinion into evidence and accountability into collaboration.

Why Data Matters

Most employers already receive some version of a “provider performance report” from their carrier or TPA. These reports are useful but often shallow. They summarize what happened — total cost, claim count, average duration — without explaining why it happened.

To make meaningful progress, employers need insight, not just information. That’s where advanced analytics tools like IMR Metrics come in. They go beneath the surface to reveal patterns, inefficiencies, and cost drivers that shape claim performance.

Seeing the Whole Picture

With the right data, employers can answer critical questions such as:

• Which clinics return employees to work fastest?

• Which providers have the highest rate of lost-time claims?

• Are certain job types or departments seeing repetitive injuries?

• Where do costs spike compared to peer locations?

This knowledge turns management from reactive to proactive. Instead of waiting for a trend to appear in your experience mod, you can intervene early — adjusting provider assignments, refining safety training, or re-evaluating work restrictions.

From Policing to Partnering

Data should never be used as a weapon. The goal isn’t to catch providers doing something wrong but to collaborate in doing things better. When employers share analytics with their medical partners, it opens the door for constructive dialogue:

“We noticed your clinic’s average claim duration is higher for back injuries. Can we look together at return-to-work restrictions or therapy protocols?”

This kind of evidence-based conversation builds respect. Providers appreciate employers who speak their language — data — and who want to improve outcomes rather than assign blame.

Continuous Improvement Loops

Think of data as a feedback loop. Each quarter, review provider metrics side-by-side with your claims results:

1. Discuss trends — What’s improving? What’s lagging?

2. Identify causes — Are there administrative bottlenecks or communication gaps?

3. Set goals — Shorten treatment duration by 10%, increase same-day reporting, etc.

4. Measure again — Compare results in the next quarter.

These loops create a rhythm of accountability that keeps both employer and provider focused on measurable outcomes rather than subjective impressions.

Storytelling With Numbers

Data becomes even more powerful when it’s used to tell a story. For example, showing a provider that your shared efforts reduced lost-time claims by 25% demonstrates the real-world impact of partnership. Sharing that success internally also reinforces management commitment to data-driven decision-making.

IMR Metrics and similar tools make it easy to visualize these improvements and communicate them clearly to leadership, brokers, or carriers.

Turning Insight Into Action

Analytics only create value when they lead to change. If the data shows a certain clinic has outstanding outcomes, strengthen that relationship. If another provider’s numbers lag, meet to discuss support or retraining. Use your findings to:

• Refine your preferred provider list.

• Inform network renewal decisions.

• Shape future provider training.

• Demonstrate ROI to executives.

When data informs every stage of your medical management strategy, your provider network becomes a living system of continuous improvement — not a static directory.

The Bigger Picture

Data transparency also aligns with the broader mission of workers’ comp: helping injured employees recover safely and efficiently. When employers and providers collaborate around measurable outcomes, it restores trust to a process that can often feel opaque and transactional.

The strongest relationships balance heart and numbers: empathy for the injured worker, cooperation between stakeholders, and analytics that keep everyone accountable to the same goal — better results for people and performance alike.

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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