Even in the safest work environments, workplace accidents and injuries can occur, challenging employers to properly manage medical treatment, regulations, and costs associated with injury case management. Industry Health Solutions offers a unique approach to occupational case management by providing services tailored to meet the needs of the client. IHS can provide Occupational Case Managers that are dedicated to a company exclusively. The employer no longer has to wait for a case manager to respond quickly to their needs, manage a “canned” program that misses vital information/savings, or work with a random nurse that the employees and physicians don’t trust.
What Is an Occupational Case Manager?
Occupational Case Managers are medically licensed healthcare providers that specialize in assisting employers and employees in navigating the medical care system along with regulatory requirements (i.e., Workers’ Compensation, OSHA, state labor laws, and insurance) in order to reduce confusion, disability periods, and costs.
Occupational Case Managers promote value-based care by providing quality control, customized treatment plans, and determining what is necessary and why. They protect both the business by reducing risks/expense and the employees by ensuring their health and recovery is the focus.
At What Point, Post-injury Would a Case Manager Get Involved?
The sooner, the better! Case Managers complete a multi-point contact system as soon as they are notified of an incident. Unnecessary, uncontrolled costs could begin with the first visit.
What Is the Job of the Occupational Case Manager?
- They communicate with the employer, any third-party workers’ compensation administrators, the employee, and the treating medical providers
- Receive, review, and facilitate approvals of medical reports and referrals
- Registered Nurse Case Managers can take verbal orders from treating physicians to reduce unnecessary visits for minor changes in care
- Help the injured employee understand the condition and treatment details
- Monitor for “red flags” such as fraudulent claims
- Develop a plan following evidence-based practice which includes cost containment
- Recommend service providers
- Build relationships between medical staff and employers
- Evaluate the feasibility of return to work or off-work recommendations
- Report/clarify data points for safety systems including OSHA regulations
- Provide time-sensitive updates to all parties involved
Benefits of Utilizing an Occupational Case Manager
Case Managers assigned to the claims within 24 hours of the injury or illness can reduce the cost of medical and indemnity on average by $6,000.00 per claim through communication with the health care providers, reduction in days off work, successful return to work, and elimination of unnecessary medical procedures.
Occupational Case Managers are the hub of post-injury medical care. Everything the employee does or does not do following an event is carefully monitored, documented, and resolved by Industry Health Solution Case Managers. A qualified and experienced Case Manager in collaboration with a competent worker’s comp medical team can save an employer hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
To learn more how an Industry Health Solutions occupational case manager can benefit your company, contact IHS today!
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