If you’re an employer, especially in a smaller company, you are likely to find yourself confronted with a number of questions when an employee becomes injured.
Let’s imagine for a moment that you have an employee who slips on ice in your company parking lot and sprains her ankle.
You may be wondering, “What do I have to do when the injured worker comes to me? Where do I send her? Do I send her to her family physician or to an emergency department? Should I have someone fill in her duties, or do I have alternative work that she can perform? What should I expect from the physician treating her? What happens if her injury results in a permanent disability? Will treatment for her injury have an effect on my workers’ compensation insurance rates?”
These are all valid questions, and frankly, they are questions that many employers have to deal with throughout their careers. Workplace injuries can be difficult to navigate, but having an occupational health practice on your side can help ease the burden.
To give some background on the reasons these types of injuries can be so complex, it’s important to know that the workers’ compensation system (a state-based system) is a world unto itself, and differs drastically from standard medical care and private health insurance. It is a no-fault system designed to provide protections for both the injured employee and for the employer.
Unfortunately, many physicians shy away from dealing with patients who have work-related injuries, either out of the perceived hassles of negotiating the system or due to the fact that their offices are not equipped to deal with the complex insurance process (as it differs so much from their accustomed procedures).
Another difference is that physicians are trained to practice medicine as a private relationship between the doctor and patient, whereas the workers’ compensation model requires a three-way relationship between the doctor, the injured worker, and the employer.
Beyond that, the workers’ compensation insurance carrier also plays an increasing role in the process of treating a workplace injury, since there is a vested interest in seeing the process completed efficiently. On top of all of this is the fact that there may be regulatory demands with a worker’s injury, for example by OSHA or the Federal Department of Transportation.
The good news, though, is that there are specially-trained physicians and providers who deal exclusively with workplace wellness. These providers are experienced in occupational health and can help you to navigate workplace injuries and workers’ compensation.
If you are an employer, I encourage you to attend a free upcoming event sponsored by Mount Nittany Physician Group Occupational Health. On Tuesday, May 26, we will host a roundtable discussion and question and answer session on the issues involved with workers’ compensation.
The event will include perspectives from local healthcare providers, (myself and Susan Ososkie, MS, CRNP), as well as legal representation from Judge Robert Vonada; attorney Stephen Miller of Post & Schell; workers’ compensation insurance professional Joseph Geise, president of Doty & Hench; and Lisa Wulderk, RN, CCM, CRRN, CAOHC, case manager for the SRS Group. The roundtable will be moderated by Deborah Mohr, MPH, coordinator of outpatient business development at HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital.
We expect that our free panel discussion will be of interest to local employers in business and industry but also to local healthcare professionals who deal with workers’ injuries or who have questions about the nature of the workers’ compensation system.
This panel discussion, which is free and open to the community, will be held at Mount Nittany Medical Center, in the Galen and Nancy Dreibelbis Auditorium, on Tuesday, May 26, from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm. There will be light refreshments served and pre-registration is requested either by calling 814.234.6727 or by email to communications@mountnittany.org.
