City of Little Rock Case Study Reveals 39-Percent Reduction in Average Workers' Compensation Costs
Posted on: Wednesday, 28 May 2008, 09:01 CDT
Employers and municipalities across the country are struggling to control workers' compensation costs and outcomes. The City of Little Rock and Company Nurse, the premier independent provider of nurse medical triage and injury management programs, today released case study results that demonstrate a 39-percent reduction in average workers' compensation claims costs after implementing an innovative injury management program, along with other workers' compensation best practices.
The injury management program offered by Company Nurse includes a toll-free nurse call center to facilitate timely, accurate reporting of injuries and to provide a nurse's medical expertise to triage injuries to the most appropriate, cost-effective level of care. Health plans have long used nurse hotlines to provide patients with medical advice and to foster proper utilization of healthcare services. Workers' compensation programs are now leveraging this same strategy to reap similar benefits.
"Company Nurse has been a significant component to the City improving its injury-reporting process and achieving significant cost savings," said Mike Knott, the Safety and Loss Control Specialist at the City of Little Rock. "We went from barely meeting the State's minimum requirement to being awarded the State Workers' Compensation Commission's 'Exemplary Performance Award' (2007 - 2008) for 100-percent on-time reporting and a reduced number of claims. In addition, the City's workers' compensation program went from an average annual cost of $1.8 million to now averaging $800,000 over the past five years. In essence, we reduced the average costs per claim by 39 percent. These are outstanding results and we highly recommend Company Nurse's injury management program as a means to get claims on the right track from the onset of injuries."
Company Nurse's timely injury reporting and management program has also contributed to the City reducing its lost workdays by nearly 70 percent and saving more than $15,000 per year by channeling injured employees to the most appropriate medical facility. The City has now achieved nearly 100-percent PPO-network penetration.
"Another benefit is the City now has access to more comprehensive injury information, which we utilize to identify potential program opportunities," said Jim Bradshaw, Risk Manager for the City of Little Rock. "Employee safety has always been a key concern. Injury information allows us to identify high-risk areas and to address them with safety and injury-prevention programs."
"Many employers experience delays in injury reporting and have supervisors making medical decisions, both of which adversely affect costs and outcomes," said Paul Binsfeld, CEO of Company Nurse. "To address these issues, we provide medical expertise at the point of injury to evaluate and triage employees' medical needs over the phone. In many cases, the nurse may conclude that the most appropriate level of care is simple first aid or self care, which reduces unnecessary ER visits. Employees appreciate this compassionate, personalized response, and many do not require or request additional medical services."
Due to the significant benefits and cost-savings offered to clients, Company Nurse has experienced phenomenal success, growing 290 percent over the past three years. To download the complete City of Little Rock case study, visit Company Nurse's website: http://www.companynurse.com/articles/index.php.
About the City of Little Rock
As the capital of Arkansas, the City of Little Rock employs over 2,500 staff members, who work within the 14 different departments to maintain and improve the "quality of life" for more than 187,000 citizens. The City self-insures its workers' compensation program, which is managed by the Safety & Loss Control Division of the Human Resources Department. To find out more information about the city, visit www.littlerock.org.
About Company Nurse
Company Nurse is the premier independent provider of nurse medical triage and injury management programs. Recognizing that in workers' compensation, the "day of injury" represents the earliest, most critical point at which organizations can exert the greatest control over claims costs and outcomes, Company Nurse provides organizations with comprehensive "Day of Injury" management services -- including injury reporting, nurse medical triage, and a structured RTW (return-to-work) NOW program -- all of which enable optimal costs and outcomes. For more information, go to www.companynurse.com or call (888) 817-9282.
Media Contact: Tammy Delatorre 661-775-0550
SOURCE: Company Nurse
Source: MARKET WIRE
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