ORLANDO, Florida — To go from reactive to proactive workers compensation industry is embracing data collection and analysis to gauge where injuries are occurring, how long injured workers are staying off the job and why, and how to better manage the trajectory of claims, according to panelists speaking at the Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference Monday.
“When issues start to creep up that we’re just kind of saying, okay, is this a trend? Is it an anomaly? Is it something that needs to be focused on? And that’s the point I would make; you got to have enough of a look at your data and spend enough time with it where you can take those types of things out,” said Max Koonce, Memphis, Tennessee-based chief claims officer, Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc.
Michael Pettit, Frisco, Texas-based director of data analytics at Sedgwick, said the industry has historically acted as “damage control” for companies with injured workers. Data, he said, gives employers a better look at what’s happening to their claims.
It’s one of the areas of particular interest to the C-suite, which has invested in data analytics and technology to improve programs and outcomes, according to Mr. Koonce.
Nancy Strubler, director of workers compensation for Lisle, Illinois-based National Express LLC, a transportation company that operates school buses and other types of commercial vehicles, said data collection on injury rates and causation, including gathering data from devices put in vehicles, is helping the company see where more training may be needed.
“This is how we can help prevent (accidents and claims); the data shows us that within the past 30 days we’ve had 26 accidents for employees that are six months or less. What can we do to keep up that training?” she said.
At Albertsons Co., a large grocery chain based in Boise, Idaho, the company has its eyes on treatment data for injured workers, Kelly Webb, the company’s senior director of national claims, told attendees that the reports show that more claimants are receiving physical therapy but that pharmaceutical costs are coming down as a result.
The data “shows me that the doctors are changing their behaviors,” she said. “Our opioids are way, way down. So we’re using physical therapy and those kind of conservative modalities instead of handing out the drugs. I think that’s a good thing, and I’m willing to pay for that.”
“On the other hand, we got to measure our physical therapy programs now and make sure that the turnaround times are good, and then we’re getting people in quickly and they can relieve their pain before it gets worse,” she added.