One Key Takeaway and Application Point from WCRI 2026

Last week, I attended the WCRI conference in Boston, and for me, there was very one clear and obvious takeaway. Hello. My name is Michael Stack. And if you don’t know me yet, I’m the CEO of AMAXX. And since two thousand and eight, what I’ve done is help employers and stakeholders that serve employers optimize injury management systems through our work comp training certification programs, our IMR metrics suite, and our Remus product.

What Changed — and What Didn’t

Now that one clear and obvious takeaway from the WCRI conference was that as much as things change…is as much as they stay the same. They talked a lot about hospital closures…Affordable Care Act, changes in AI, changes in the economy. And then in the afternoon, there was an employer panel…where representatives from Aramark, Disney, Publix…Marriott…talked about what’s working. We have on-site clinics. We’ve got different types of care. We’ve got different things.

Here’s the takeaway…

The Fundamental Reality

As much as the challenges with hospital closures, changes in using telemedicine, using triage, using physician triage, having rural areas change, having hospitals in cities and bigger areas close…all of that, to me, my takeaway, was extra stuff…in terms of getting down to the fundamentals that have not changed and will not change, have not changed and will not change no matter what happens in the world and in AI and all kinds of stuff that’s happening.

Fundamental #1: Establish Trust and Set Expectations

Here’s the fundamental. Whether it’s a hospital, whether it’s a rural area, whether it’s a city, whether you’re using virtual care, the fundamentals remain the same. When an injured worker gets injured, we need to establish trust, set expectations. Establish trust and set expectations.

That’s fundamental number one.

Fundamental #2: Get Them the Care They Need

Number two, we need to get them the care that they need. That could be done through a hospital. That could be done through an on-site clinic. That could be done through virtual care.

That was proven through the conversations and the data that we saw. Get them the care that they need. And it didn’t seem based on the data that it was a major factor in terms of how that was done. So the fundamental remains the same. Get the injured worker the care that they need.

Facilitate the Return to Work

Establish trust. Get them the care that they need…in a way that they feel cared for, and help facilitate that return to work process.

Those fundamentals have been in place for over a hundred years, and they will be the same fundamentals for another hundred and several hundred more years to come.

As much as the world changes, as much as we’re all worried about AI and taking our jobs and all kinds of stuff, the fundamentals in workers’ compensation remain the same and they always will. Establish trust, set expectations, get injured workers that they care they need, and help facilitate redo that return to work.

When you do that in a systematic process, you will achieve success driving down cost and improving outcomes for injured workers.

Final Thought

Again, my name is Michael Stack, CEO of AMAXX. Remember, your work today, workers’ compensation, can have a dramatic impact on your company’s bottom line, but it will have a dramatic impact on someone’s life. So be great.

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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