Take AIM at Controlling Worker's Comp Costs

By Greg Johnson, President & CEO

The SRS Group, LLC

Time and time again studies have demonstrated that Early Intervention of Injured Workers reduces costs. If progress comes from the intelligent use of experience, then employers would do well to take advantage of the practical knowledge gained by others through actual experience working in the field with injured workers.

In the late 1970’s and throughout the 1980’s I was personally managing Case Management for Return to Work. Through the many cases I and my colleagues handled, it became apparent that the earlier the referral was made to intervene, the faster an injured worker returned to work. Running a business I know how important controlling costs are, so ever since I learned the value of Early Intervention I have been educating other employers.

Over the last 30+ years there have been many studies to support the benefits of Early Intervention. A study conducted in the 1990’s by Axiomedics Research, Inc., a California health services research and consulting firm, found a clear correlation between final outcomes in catastrophic comp cases and the date of referral. "The group with the most elapsed time from the date of injury to the date of referral, had the lowest final medical outcome for the injured worker," says Dr. Laura Gardner, President of Axiomedics

In 2000 an article written in the Orthopaedic Forum of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery entitled “Workers Compensation: Avoiding Work Related Disability”, stated that earlier intervention empowers the injured worker to “resist the negative effect of a system that discourages early return to work.”

The American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine in 2005 reported “The key to preventing disability is intervening while the situation is still fresh and fluid. Research has confirmed that people who never lose time from work have better outcomes than people who lose some time from work. Several studies confirm that the odds of returning to work drop with every passing day not at work.”

A 2007 article on Early Intervention by Insure.com sites studies done by Sun Life Financial, an insurance company, and the Integrated Benefits Institute (IBI), a nonprofit benefits research organization, stated “Employers who intervene soon after employees are first disabled can help them return to work faster and make them happier, while cutting disability-related costs. Employers that don't pay attention to the potential rewards of return-to-work programs may pay a high price,” says Sun Life. “Employers who ignore the importance of early intervention risk higher absenteeism, higher staffing costs, and lower productivity.”

One of the biggest concerns employers look at most is cost. But as they say in the old Fram Oil Filter commercials: “You can pay me now or pay me later.” In other words, either spend a little by being proactive or incur a major expense over time. Injuries do occur at work – it happens!! – but, it doesn’t need to turn into a major expense.

These studies confirm what industry experts have known for years: Early Intervention works! To learn more about The SRS Group’s Acute Injury Management Program (AIM), contact us at (800) 836-3450 or visit us on the web at www.srsrehab.com