NWCDC 2018: Thursday Recaps

Las Vegas, NV (WorkersCompensation.com) - 

Medical Advancements:

• Gus Gonnella, Vice President Claims, MEMIC, started this Thursday presentation with a look at the importance of nurses. To get a wanted result out of the claims process, nurses are a definite contact point to “ensure smooth communications.”

• Michael Choo, MD and CMO at Paradigm, stressed the importance of a focus shift from fee-for-service models to a value-based system.

• Gonnella also pointed to the responsibility of an injured worker. When you have a patient who says, “I want the silver bullet that is going to cure my pain,” it can sometimes be a recipe for disaster.

• Overall: While innovation in tech and medical improvements surfaces every day, it is important to acknowledge the reality of what can be applied, and how it can be used in the healing process for injured workers. 

Who’s at Fault for the Opioid Epidemic? How Should We Mitigate it?

• Denise Algire, Director, Risk Initiatives and National Medical Director, Albertsons Companies; and Joseph Paduda, President, CompPharma, LLC; spoke on something the speaker pair is very passionate about… not only the opioid crisis, but who is involved and what levels manufacturers, distributors, and prescribers are at in making it worse.

• Lawsuits across the country are popping up, sometimes going after retail pharmacies too, and the settlements can involve compensation requests for the aftermath of the havoc opioid abuse can create in injured workers and their communities.

• Paduda told WorkersCompensation.com via email that, “Excellent questions (were asked) about potential liability for employers, which the speakers agreed could be mitigated by assertive clinical pharmacy management of opioid prescriptions.”

• He also noted from the presentation, “The bill for the damages caused by opioid overprescribing will amount to tens of billions of dollars — at best. Insurers and employers should explore ways to force the opioid industry to pay for the damage they’ve done, potentially via litigation.”

Opioids and the Impacts on Injured Workers:

• Michael Fenlon, Senior Director, Global Risk Management at United Parcel Service and John Ruser, President and CEO at Workers' Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) spoke to approximately 80 attendees on Wednesday about the opioid crisis, and new insights/stats surrounding it.

• “John Ruser provided preliminary WCRI data that risk managers and claims managers can use to identify groups of workers at higher risk of being prescribed opioids,” per WCRI Director of Communications Andrew Kenneally. “Fenlon talked about how UPS uses data to focus on opioid claims and outlined strategies for helping workers return to work without dependency or prolonged absences.”

(Click here to read more WorkersCompensation.com coverage on the conference.) 

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