ORLANDO, Fla. — To move from a reactive to a proactive workers’ compensation industry, the industry is turning to collecting and analyzing data to determine where injuries occur, how long injured workers are away from work and why, and to better manage the trend in claims, according to attendees at the Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference held Monday.
“When problems arise, we simply ask ourselves: Is this a trend? Is this an anomaly? Is this something we need to focus on? And that’s what I’m getting at: You need to look at your data closely and spend enough time with it so you can filter out things like this,” said Max Koonce, chief claims officer at Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc., based in Memphis, Tennessee.
Michael Pettit, director of data analytics at Sedgwick in Frisco, Texas, said the industry has historically served as “damage control” for companies with injured workers. Data, he said, gives employers a better view of what’s happening with their claims.
This is one of the areas of particular interest to senior leadership, and they have invested in data analytics and technology to improve programs and outcomes, Koonce said.
Nancy Strubler, director of workers’ compensation at Lisle, Ill.-based National Express LLC, a transportation company that operates school buses and other commercial vehicles, said collecting data on injury rates and causes, including collecting data from devices installed in the vehicles, helps the company identify where more training may be needed.
“This is how we can help prevent (accidents and claims). The data shows us that in the last 30 days we have had 26 accidents involving employees who are six months old or less. What can we do to maintain this training?” she said.
At Albertsons Co., a large grocery chain based in Boise, Idaho, the company keeps a close eye on treatment data for injured workers. Kelly Webb, the company’s senior director of national claims, told attendees that reports showed more claimants were receiving physical therapy, but as a result, drug costs were falling.
The data “shows me that doctors are changing their behavior,” she said. “Our opioids have gone way down. So we’re using physical therapy and conservative methods like that instead of giving medications. I think that’s a good thing, and I’m willing to pay for it.”
“On the other hand, we now need to measure our physical therapy programs and make sure turnaround times are favorable so we can get people in quickly and relieve their pain before it gets worse,” she added.
