Podcast

Treating LGBTQ Injured Workers: Gaining Cultural Competence with Chikita Mann

…   In part 2 of her podcast on addressing health care disparities based on sexual orientation and gender … I’m Tom Kerr. In part one of our podcast on cultural competency and the LGBTQ community, Chikita Mann discussed health care … : We have to stress the fact that, first of all, they're an individual and they have rights as an individual. They have the right to be treated with … : If you have any of the certifications such as CCM, CRC, or CVMS, it is within the standards of conduct that we …
Podcast

Medication Safety: How Do We Solve the Problem?

… solutions with real results in helping injured workers return to the job without the burden of opioid dependence. … multimedia series in which subject matter experts discuss problems and offer solutions to top issues affecting our industry. I’m Tom Kerr, and in part two of our discussion, Ron Skrocki, vice president at Genex Services, offers solutions to medication … Ron, one of the main problems with medication safety in workers’ comp is the lack of integration in …
Blog

Morphine Equivalent Dose (MED) Continues to Decline

… Script’s retail and mail-order programs. In addition, there was a reduction in the percentage of opioid scripts with greater than or equal to 90 MED. To better understand why this is … a few questions. First, what is MED? With the nation’s focus on the opioid epidemic being at an all-time high it is likely you have heard the term morphine equivalent dose or MED. But what exactly does that mean and why do we use it? MED is a calculated standardized value of the total opioid intake of a person over 24 hours. Since opioids have different potencies …
News Release

Genex Services Extends Care Continuum Through PCS Acquisition

… leading medical management program, said Peter Madeja, Genex CEO. “This acquisition offers an exciting opportunity for both companies,” said Madeja. “Priority Care Solutions shares our … to help injured workers return to their jobs. Priority Care Solutions offers a broad range of services that complement our medical cost containment model, allowing Genex to further expand … than 2,900 employees and 41 service locations throughout North America. The company serves the top underwriters of workers' compensation, automobile, disability insurance, third-party …
Case Study

Shouldering Responsibility

… Julie Wilcox, RN, MSN, BSN, CRNA, is a field case manager with an extensive three-decade career in nursing which includes pediatrics, obstetrics and education. … employee from getting back to work. This was the challenge Wilcox faced when assigned to an injured employee mired in eight months of pain and inactivity due to a significant left shoulder injury which rendered him unable to … Upon one of her first visits, the man admitted to Wilcox he felt “the world had given up on him” and was …
Article

Ask the Pharmacist: Emergency Use Authorization

… How Does Emergency Use Authorization Differ from Full Approval of a Treatment or Vaccine? … The immediate and urgent changes that a global pandemic demands have proven to be an enormous challenge, and with those personal, professional and societal challenges over the past year came the urgent need for safe and effective COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. As of Jan. 5, 2021, two vaccines have received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Federal …
Article

Three Reasons Your Data Is Under Attack Right Now

… to mitigate risk for remote work access, but focusing just on technology misses a key element of security. The best technology available today won’t close the most vulnerable gap—humans. … says they are seeing “massive uplift” in phishing and other related attacks during this time—an increase of more than 400% in the last few months—primarily targeting the human factor in our security … 1. The Emotional Nature of Our Changing World …
Article

Need-to-Know Tips for ADAAA Compliance

… : One would be developing internal policies for employers to meet the requirements of ADAAA. Again, it's showing good faith that you're someone who has asked us to look into a … the job in detail. Again, I find that most employers, they'll have a general task‑type of  job description but they might not have a lot of details about the physical or the cognitive … Again, documenting each step, whatever you took is necessary. Come up with a plan. If there's an agreement, there should be follow‑up to make sure things are going well based on the changes …
Article

Need-to-Know Tips for ADAAA Compliance

… : One would be developing internal policies for employers to meet the requirements of ADAAA. Again, it's showing good faith that you're someone who has asked us to look into a … the job in detail. Again, I find that most employers, they'll have a general task‑type of  job description but they might not have a lot of details about the physical or the cognitive … Again, documenting each step, whatever you took is necessary. Come up with a plan. If there's an agreement, there should be follow‑up to make sure things are going well based on the changes …
Article

Specialty Solutions Spotlight: How Bone Growth Stimulators Accelerate Healing

… Who is best suited to use a bone growth stimulator after an injury? Recovering from a broken bone can be a long and difficult journey, often accompanied by pain, diminished quality of life, and ongoing medical expenses. Accelerating the healing process is essential, and … the recovery landscape. Bone growth stimulators are designed to speed up the healing of fractures. They work by promoting new bone growth through low-level electrical, magnetic or …
Article

Best Practices for Supporting Mental Health in Comp

… There’s a heightened awareness in our industry on how psychosocial factors impact an injured employee’s recovery. But what’s the best way to approach and address these issues? In the fourth and final installment of our mental health in comp podcast series, we ask Nikki Wilson and Tammy Bradly to share some … anxiety, depression is typically addressed with psychotherapy medication or a combination of both. The most common therapy utilized is CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy or sometimes …
Podcast

Best Practices for Supporting Mental Health in Comp

… There’s a heightened awareness in our industry on how psychosocial factors impact an injured employee’s recovery. But what’s the best way to approach and address these issues? In the fourth and final installment of our mental health in comp podcast series, we ask Nikki Wilson and Tammy Bradly to share some … anxiety, depression is typically addressed with psychotherapy medication or a combination of both. The most common therapy utilized is CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy or sometimes …
Blog

Introducing Networks 2.0: Part Three

… they represent are eager to get injured workers back on their feet and back on the job. Many of these companies represent the heavyweights of corporate America. Major employers like … Board has broken down some statistics, and reports that there is only a 50 percent chance that an injured employee will return to work after a six-month absence. That drops to a 25 percent … medical complications resulting from potentially being forced into a more sedentary lifestyle. Top companies understand that having a worker return to the job either under modified duty or, if …
Article

Ask The Pharmacist: Topical vs. Systemic Pain Medication

… What are the advantages and limitations of topical vs. systemic pain medications? Managing chronic pain with medications can be difficult … regulatory environment, and overlapping disease conditions that contribute to the challenge of delivering safe and effective relief for those with chronic pain conditions. According to a pain study conducted in 2016 among adults in the United States, an estimated 20.4% (50 million) suffer with chronic pain and 8% (19.6 million) have high-impact …
Blog

Tips from Coventry Employees for Working from Home

… In March, many people found themselves suddenly thrust into the weird and wonderful world of working from home (WFH). We thought we’d take a break from our usual format of offering workers’ comp industry trends and insights to share some tips on working from home. … WFH.  This WFH culture made our recent transition that much easier.  On March 11,  we began an effort to get all employees to WFH until further notice. In a matter of 2 days, nearly 2,000 …
Article

Ask The Pharmacist: Urine Drug Testing in Workers’ Compensation

… Who should receive urine drug testing and how often? Urine drug testing (UDT) plays an important role in workers’ compensation, serving as an essential tool for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to ensure safe and effective use of medications by injured employees. UDT helps PBMs monitor adherence to prescribed medications and detect potential misuse by identifying the presence of prescribed, non-prescribed and illicit substances. This testing supports compliance with …
Article

How Case Managers and Care Coordinators Are Working Together and Finding Success in Hospital Discharge Planning

… For a hospital discharge coordinator, the success of an injured employee’s discharge planning largely relies upon coordination with a case manager who … with the injured employee to ultimately support a timely recovery. In the second installment of our series, we’ll examine the role of the case manager and outline a case study from Apricus … safely discharge home with his needed supplies and resources in place to begin his next phase of recovery. Unfortunately, after just two weeks of being discharged from the hospital a …
Article

How Case Managers and Care Coordinators Are Working Together and Finding Success in Hospital Discharge Planning

… For a hospital discharge coordinator, the success of an injured employee’s discharge planning largely relies upon coordination with a case manager who … with the injured employee to ultimately support a timely recovery. In the second installment of our series, we’ll examine the role of the case manager and outline a case study from Apricus … safely discharge home with his needed supplies and resources in place to begin his next phase of recovery. Unfortunately, after just two weeks of being discharged from the hospital a …
Article

Specialty Solutions Spotlight: Prosthetic Services in Workers’ Comp

… What is the costliest type of injury in workers’ compensation? Amputations are the  costliest  type of injury in workers’ compensation, both in terms of lost time and long-term expense. Working … Nature of Prosthetics In many cases, because of the nature of a catastrophic injury like an amputation, the injured employee has already been sent to the hospital. Typically, a … A Broad Selection of Devices with Targeted Levels of Function: …
Article

Canadian Collision Summary: Q4 2017

… systems in Q4 2017, was $4,184, a $43 increase from Q4 2016. Factoring for development yields an anticipated increase to $4,229. Average Appraisal Values Severity Overall Average Appraisal … was $4,145, a $93 increase from the same period last year. Factoring for development yields an anticipated increase to $4,186, which represents a $134 increase from Q4 2016. Collision … This chart compares the average appraisal make up as a percentage of dollars. These data points reflect an increase in parts and a slight decrease in labor when …
News Release

Mitchell Recognized as a 2025 Stratus Award Winner for Its Transformative, AI-Powered Claims Automation Solutions

… Mitchell , a leader in the development of innovative auto physical damage technology solutions, today announced that it is a winner of … in the cloud to power the future of business. 2025 Stratus Award Logo Mitchell was named a top technology company in the Software as a Service (SaaS) category for its achievements in … and return policyholders and their vehicles to the road safely and efficiently following an accident. Over the past year, the company launched new enhancements focused on delivering …
Case Study

Man Down, but Not for Long

… Carrie McCullin has more than a decade of case management experience at Genex Services, and has been an RN for more than 25 years. Known for her excellent critical thinking skills and ability to … condition from multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the head, incurred in the line of duty. The initial treatment involved stabilizing the man who had sustained a subdural hematoma and fractured jaw. McCullin served as an intermediary between providers, the injured person and his family, offering assistance and …
Article

Premiums Written: Q4 2018 Casualty Must-Reads

… Each quarter, I round up and highlight some of my favorite articles written by Mitchell experts and let you know where we have been published outside of our mPower thought leadership website. This quarter, we were featured in PropertyCasualty360 … quarter! Seeing the Full Picture of a Claim By Nina Smith Every decision matters when handling an auto casualty or workers’ compensation claim. A poor decision could cause a delay in helping …
Article

How Adjuster Workspace Is Driving Simplified Workflows

… demands which are complex and challenging to identify without structured data. This feeling of incomplete and inconsistent evaluations often can lead to poor settlement outcomes. According to Enlyte’s 2022 Annual Trends Report, prior to 2020, less than 10% of the professional workforce worked from home all or most of the time, whereas now approximately … remote roles. When it comes to claims, it is hard for new adjusters to see the big picture in an easy, digestible way. When things seem to be in chaos, it's often challenging to see how to …
Author

Donita Stacker

… Donita Stacker has over 16 years of experience in the workers’ comp industry. In her current role as manager of strategic implementations and complex care, she is responsible for delivering exceptional customer experiences during various implementation stages. As an operational leader, Donita collaborates with technical and operational teams to establish …
CE Webinar

Nurse Triage: The Time is Now

… One way employers can earn trust at the time of injury is to give employees ready access to a source of credible information: a nurse. This session examines the support nurse triage can provide to an injured worker and the role employers play in building trust at a vulnerable time when …
Article

Premiums Written: Q3 2018 Casualty Must-Reads

… Each quarter, I round up and highlight some of my favorite articles written by Mitchell experts and let you know where we have been published outside of our mPower thought leadership website. This quarter, Mitchell was featured in Claims Journal , … how precertification and utilization review play a role in workers’ compensation and present an effective method in the defense against rising medical costs. Below I’ve included a link to …
Article

Enlyte Pharmacists Discuss a Changing Workers’ Comp Pharmacy Landscape

… compensation pharmacy is constantly evolving, from tackling the opioid crisis, to the rise of compounding pharmacies, to the pandemic. Amidst these changes, pharmacy benefit managers must constantly evolve to address an array of industry changes. In our final Enlytening Conversation our pharmacists discuss how changes … When you look back at workers' compensation pharmacy, it's gone through a lot of changes. So, you know, I remember when the opioid crisis came up and it, you know, it impacted …