Personal Training: A Surprising Health and Wellness Room Benefit

Author in the Prevent Future Claims category

I started training about four months ago. With an intense diet and lots of exercise, I went from a size 12 to a size 6. It was a lot of hard work, and not to mention sweat and being tired. I don’t think that I could have done it though if it wasn’t for my personal trainer. He was always there actually holding me accountable for being present at the gym, to provide a journal of the food I was eating, and was there to push me to be better.

Think of the Health and Wellness Room as your injured employees’ personal trainer of sorts. We are personally involved in the recovery of each individual that comes in. We want to see results, to see the recovery process take place and conclude. We are going to  make sure that he/she is getting up and moving within the restrictions of their specific injury. That the motivation stays high to get back into the workplace and prevent being in a “daytime TV slump” because he/she can’t do what they could before. It encompasses all aspects of the recovery process. I know that there were days I didn’t want to go to the gym because I was tired, or I wasn’t seeing results every day and it was depressing at times. We here at the Health and Wellness Rooms can address that slump too.

We mix up the day here – we have stretch time, designated walk times, and educational experiences for your injury. We will teach your employees how to prevent further injury, instead of just telling them what to do and send them home. Finally the Health and Wellness Rooms will set the pace. We keep your employees in a routine, which is half the battle of setting the recovery in motion.

Your Proof:Positive personal trainer is waiting.

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Medical Network Management – Active vs. Passive

Author in the Prevent Future Claims category

Health care providers come in all stripes and the quality of care can vary greatly. Relying solely on your insurance carrier or TPA (third-party administrator) network can be costly. These networks are built by finding providers who will agree to a discounted reimbursement rate, in exchange for more referrals. Some of these providers see very few patients in the workers’ compensation system, and therefore, may not understand the role of early return-to-work in the employee’s recovery.

It’s important to work closely with providers that understand the workers’ compensation system and who can support an early return-to-work initiative, such as, Proof:Positive’s Health and Wellness Room model. Provider network discounts are of little value if the treatment regimen drags on…and on. Professionally-managed Health and Wellness Rooms hasten patient recovery and return-to-work by supporting treatment adherence and improving employee motivation.

Proof:Positive can help you identify providers who support an early return-to-work philopsophy. Contact Proof:Positive today.

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Obesity and Healing: Educate your Employees

Author in the Prevent Future Claims category

Obesity is an obstacle that many Americans face, and combining that with the recovery from an injury severely impacts the healing process. Results from a new study in Columbus, Ohio suggest that extremely obese people are more likely than normal-weight people to injure themselves. With this statistic looming, it is vital that we don’t let our injured go on without having the opportunity to change their lifestyle. While prevention is important, education after the fact is essential. Proof:Positive can help employers with new ideas to keep their employees healthy and fit, which can statistically decrease the number of work injuries.

Obesity combined with a simple knee injury, or even a complex surgery, is going to prolong the healing process severely. Obesity falls into an interference with wellness that is not always accounted for by claims adjusters. Although with anti-discriminatory laws you cannot force a diet or weight loss program to those who are overweight or mandate a smoker to quit, studies show that employees and employers favor a program that would educate, and even provide facilities to promote weight management and programs for weight loss. Participants of this survey were asked to disclose to what degree they favor specific health care and work policy blue prints for treating and preventing adult obesity. Seventy-three percent favored a move by health care companies to require obesity treatment and prevention. The same proportion favored beneficiary discounts by employers or health care companies to motivate individuals to maintain or move toward a healthy weight.

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Talking With A Doctor – Be Prepared

Author in the Reduce Current Costs category

Visiting a doctor’s office can make your injured workers nervous, impatient, or even scared. They may end up having only a few minutes with their health care provider. Later, they might remember something they forgot to ask, or they may forget what the doctor or nurse said. Being prepared can help them get the information they need. Here are some tips you can give to your injured workers to help them make the most of their doctor visit:

  • Make a list of their concerns, any allergies, and all the medicines, herbs or vitamins they may be taking
  • Provide a detailed description of their symptoms – when they started, what makes them better or worse
  • Bring a notepad – and use it
  • Have a trusted friend or relative to go with them

Make sure that your employee understands their diagnosis, any treatments they may receive, and encourage them to have their provider write down instructions. If they still have trouble understanding the different aspects of their injury, provide them with resources so they can gain the knowledge.

With all the work your company or business has to do, these issues may seem tough to handle. Proof:Positive can handle these issues for you. Proof:Positive can help monitor each injured employee’s case along with providing them with the knowledge and understanding of their injuries. Our Health and Wellness Rooms provide a platform for each injured employee to ask questions and help educate them on their injury and recovery. Proof:Positive has experienced medical staff in each room that can help your injured workers learn how to prevent, and recover from, their injuries. Contact us to see how we can help alleviate the worry and management of your injured workers.

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Is Daytime TV Addictive?

Author in the Reduce Current Costs category

Are Oprah or Jerry Springer offering addictive content in their television shows? Is this one of the reasons lost-time workers’ compensation claims can get out of control?

OK, maybe it’s not Oprah’s fault. There are complex psycho-social factors at work when an individual is off work, nursing an injury, with a reduced income. Managing these factors can help keep the individual out of a costly slump (costly to the employee and costly to the employer).

Every day an injured employee is away from work, the likelihood that they will return to work decreases, which is why it is important to have an early return-to-work program (ERTW) in place – to ensure that employees can recover in a safe and supportive environment. By providing access to an ERTW program you take an active role in your employees’ recovery, which benefits both the employee and the employer.

Proof:Positive has successfully integrated Health and Wellness Rooms into employer operations, supporting injured employees and saving companies money by effectively reducing the cost of work comp claims and returning injured workers to work quickly and safely. Contact Proof:Positive to learn how we can help you leave day-time TV for your competitors.

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Workers’ Compensation is Not Insurance

Author in the Prevent Future Claims category

Too many employers believe that workers’ compensation is insurance. Premium rates, experience modifiers, claim reserves…this is not workers’ compensation. This is just a way to finance it.

Workers’ compensation was designed to ensure that injured employees have access to medical care and salary indemnification for work-related injuries. This system was established at a time when some employers maintained hazardous workplaces and abdicated their responsibilities to the injured worker.

Times have changed and our workplaces are much safer. But, many employers still neglect their duty to the injured worker when they do no more than purchase a workers’ compensation policy. Statute requires a system, not a policy.

So what goes into a workers’ compensation system?

More…

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Instruments of Recuperation

Author in the Reduce Current Costs category

“Just reading the material made me realize I could lose weight without having to exercise that much,” one of my injured employees said to me the other day. Simple eating changes accompanied by drinking plenty of water every day can improve health, weight, and skin problems – no matter what your activity level. Being idle because of an injury does not mean that you need to have an idle mind. When attending Health and Wellness Rooms injured employees don’t sit and watch television or get lost in the system – they get moving. Whether it is a walk, stretching or wellness education, nobody is left behind with a tailor made schedule to fit all work modifications. We want your employees to be BETTER, faster!

What could be better than finding out that even though you have an injury you can maintain and/or even improve your habits? 

The simplicity of having your employees on a modified work status program, coming into the Health and Wellness Room to learn about the injury that they suffer from, and discovering alternative ways to maintain weight and health while incapacitated, is reason enough to be excited that this option is out there for any sized company. I’ve been told by some employees in our Los Angeles Health and Wellness Room that they look forward to coming in after the weekend because they are getting better from stretching, walking, and maintaining a routine. Not only that, but the forestallment of future injuries is money saved as well. Because we are an advocate for the employer, we are your ally in employee recovery.

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Costly Medical Errors – Surgery Is Not Always The Answer

Author in the Reduce Current Costs category

“Potentially preventable medical errors that occur during or after surgery may cost employers nearly $1.5 billion a year, according to new estimates by the Department of Health & Human Services’ (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).”

“In a study published in the July 28 issue of the journal Health Services Research, AHRQ’s William E. Encinosa, Ph.D. and Fred J. Hellinger, Ph.D., found that insurers paid an additional $28,218 (52 percent more) and an additional $19,480 (48 percent more) for surgery patients who experienced acute respiratory failure or post-operative infections, respectively, compared with patients who did not experience either error.”

The authors also found these additional costs for surgery patients who experienced the following medical errors compared with those who did not: More…

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Social Capital – Funding the Trust in Workers’ Compensation

Author in the Reduce Current Costs category

The workers’ compensation system is filled with complex relationships and competing agendas. It can be confusing or even exasperating for an employee who must navigate this system alone. Employees need an advocate they can rely on while in the workers’ compensation system.

The employer must be that advocate.

By investing in prevention and early return-to-work systems, an employer can create social capital – the trust or ‘good will’ needed to maintain relationships – even in difficult situations. The key is to select a talented employee health partner. Proof:Positive can help you make these systems your own, by involving employees during every step. Engaging employees in prevention and the return-to-work process builds trust and shuts down the avenues for over-treatment and litigation.

Ask yourself this question: Do we give a F.I.G. about our injured employees? Use this mnemonic device to assess your organization’s ability to maintain trust when an employee becomes injured and enters the workers’ compensation system.

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Knowledge is Contagious – Give Your Employees the Forum to Learn

Author in the Reduce Current Costs category

Many factors affect our health. Some are beyond our control, such as genetic makeup and age – but we can make changes to our lifestyle. By encouraging your employees to take steps toward healthy living, you can help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke and other serious diseases. Obvious practices are to eat well, maintain a healthy weight, be physically active and see a doctor for regular screenings.  

Incorporating these practices into lifestyles and routines can be difficult for those people who don’t realize their significance. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a place where your employees can learn this information while on the job and also have it available to your injured employees?  A Health and Wellness Room can help employees learn about a healthy lifestyle, which in return produces a healthy and productive employee. Knowledge is contagious and when one employee shares his knowledge about health or safety, it spreads to others.

Proof:Positive can provide your employee with a wealth of knowledge that will spread throughout your business. Proof:Positive can decrease your workers compensation costs through preventative measures or by educating the injured. All this can be done while they remain on normal payroll so lost time is reduced. Let us help you create a workplace filled with informed employees who are motivated to perform their duties safely.

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