The national #WorkersCompensation community is at risk of losing the plot of the #OpioidEpidemic. The assault against opioid abuse may be relying too much on over-simplified medicine. It is essential to expand the conversation to emphasize the importance of the overall care of a patient and improve the tracking of health outcomes. The discussion can no longer be just about drugs and potential savings.
WC State Legislation
Content Out of Context
Regulating the use of evidence-based medicine standards by state jurisdictions tends to polarize workers’ compensation stakeholders – sometimes for good reason. However, an important attribute that is evident in a well-developed medically responsible EBM standard can be easily overlooked: EBM guidance may not always be unequivocal.
The data is clear. The impact that EBM has on improved health outcomes in workers’ compensation is overwhelmingly positive. Continue reading to get my take on why it is counter-productive to use the content out of context.
Removing Friction from California’s Workers’ Compensation System
#California’s success in removing friction from its #WorkersCompensation system hinges on all of the state’s stakeholders committing to work from the same standards and speaking the same language. Anything short of this type of cooperation is both counter-productive and an affront toward the collective effort to produce #ImprovedHealthOutcomes for California’s #InjuredWorkers.
Why Standards Matter
The challenges experienced in the care and claim continuum are plentiful and very difficult to navigate. Providers, insurers, employers, and employees deserve content measured and deemed trustworthy according to non-bias standards to guide injured workers to recovery.
With the deep knowledge base and hands on experience of how quickly a workers’ compensation claim can go into free fall toward catastrophic health and recovery outcomes for the injured worker, why aren’t more “thought-leaders” challenging the status quo to identify inadvertent, or in some cases intended, consequences in their respective areas of expertise? Let me know your thoughts on “Why Standards Matter”.
Why Details Matter for Louisiana in the Formulary Debate
The debate in Louisiana on a drug formulary continues. While HB 592 is being sent to House floor for a vote early next week, HB 529 remains in waiting. Here are my thoughts on why the Texas-model may not produce the expected results in Louisiana.
AHRQ’s National Guideline Clearinghouse and its Relevance
Is the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s National Guideline Clearinghouse still relevant? Read my latest write-up on this very important subject published in the Louisiana Comp Blog.
California Demonstrates Great Leadership
Major Overhaul Planned for MTUS The California Department of Industrial Relations Division of Workers’ Compensation (DIR DWC) continues to demonstrate its commitment to improving the quality of medical care available to ill or injured workers in the state by announcing that all MTUS… Read More ›
WorkComp’s Unsung Hero
Today’s workers’ compensation regulatory landscape is populated by requests to standardize the use of prescription drug monitoring technology, evidence-based medicine treatment guidelines, drug formularies, and other modern approaches to Occupational Medicine. All is geared toward minimizing the over-utilization of treatment and… Read More ›
Fending Off the Feds
The Department of Labor’s report on Workers’ Compensation – Does the Workers’ Compensation System Fulfill Its Obligations to Injured Workers– is the subject of much discussion among stakeholders in the workers’ compensation industry. Does the key to much of what… Read More ›
There Are No Easy Answers
Regulators and legislators have the very difficult job of developing and implementing public policy that preserves and protects the best interest of their constituents. For them,there are no easy answers. Respective to medical care in workers’ compensation, evidence-based medicine (EBM)… Read More ›