Off the Streets and Safe from COVID
2 MIN READ
Rebecca Almskog is a field case manager with 25 years of nursing experience in the Denver-area. She put her critical thinking skills and knowledge of local resources to work when assigned to a case involving a homeless injured employee with several comorbidities who was on the streets during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Breaking Down Barriers
2 MIN READ
Mariana Diaz, BA, CPDM, is a bilingual Integrated Disability Case Manager (IDCM) assigned to a major manufacturer of building and remodeling supplies. She employs her cultural expertise in managing her cases and often assists other case managers with communication with Spanish-only speaking employees and families.
Experience Matters in Restoring Lives
2 MIN READ
Prior to becoming a case manager, Kayla Payne had worked as an emergency department (ED) nurse in one of the busiest EDs in her state. As a catastrophic care case manager, she regularly is assigned to injured employees who are transferred to the same ED. Her experiences dealing with traumatic injuries there have prepared her to manage the most critical workplace injuries, while Payne’s relationships with former ED medical colleagues allow her to quickly gather and report necessary information to adjusters to initiate treatment plans.
2020 in Hindsight: Clinical Trends and Predictions
We will all remember 2020 for its startling impact on everyday life, from new work norms to how we receive medical care. The workers’ compensation and auto casualty industries have grappled with work-from-home requirements, increased unemployment, telehealth adoption and additional challenges with patient care and recovery. When it comes to pharmacy care, the pandemic has brought forth some issues while placing others on the backburner. This review will examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the industry from a pharmacy perspective and what trends we expect to influence 2021.
WorkCompWire: Catastrophic Case Management: Strategies to Foster Best-Possible Outcomes
1 MIN READ
By Mariellen Blue, National Director of Case Management and Tim Howard, Senior Vice President, Field Case Management at Genex Services
Bringing value-based contracting to workers’ comp offers opportunities and challenges
6 MIN READ
Ask almost anyone what’s wrong with health care in the U.S. and you’re likely to hear about runaway costs. The other common refrain is that for all we spend as a country, the results, too often, are only lackluster. One hoped-for remedy to the nation’s health care ills is so-called value-based contracting. This involves paying a fixed amount for a procedure—and for the results—rather than paying for each CPT code or procedure performed. Value-based scenarios are drawing more interest in group health. But how this setup would unfold in workers’ compensation remains less clear due to the industry environment.
WorkCompWire: Ensuring Seamless Ancillary Services for Catastrophic Claims
In workers' compensation, catastrophic claims often require a significant number and various types of ancillary services, anything from a rehabilitation facility, DME, transportation, home health services and more.