Injured workers' experiences of the workers' compensation claims process: institutional disrespect and the neoliberal state.
ABSTRACT This paper reports on the results of a recent qualitative study of injured workers' experiences of the claims process in NSW. It provides an analysis that suggests that recent legislative amendments to improve the process have been of limited value. The paper argues that the obstacles...

A burden imposed heavyweights: California, Texas and Florida are applying stricter HIPAA standards to workers' comp medical bills. Other states are expected to follow suit, exacting a burden on payers.
Summary * California, Florida and Texas will adopt HIPAA standards for bill review in workers' compensation by the end of the first quarter 2007, * Other states are expected to follow suit in requiring payers to submit similar data variables. * The scope...

Controlling heat stress.
When the body becomes overheated, less blood goes to the active muscles, the brain and other internal organs. Workers get weaker, become tired sooner, may be less alert, lack good judgment and perform their jobs poorly. As strain from heat becomes more severe, there can be a rapid rise...

Setting the standard: with the passage of sweeping new workers' comp reform legislation, things have finally begun to turn around for the embattled California workers' comp system. Now is the time for California employers to take the reform to the next level. The rest of the country will follow suit.
While several states have addressed the direction of medical care and provider networks to varying extents, none has programs in place that contain all of the provisions of California's Medical Provider Networks. The ability of employers to optimally manage the medical care of their injured workers through...

CALENDAR.
Byline: The Register-Guard Blachly TODAY School Board - 7:30 p.m., Library, Triangle Lake School, 20264 Blachly Grange Road. Review athletics program funding; executive (nonpublic) session to consider complaint against an employee; superintendent evaluation; adopt 2005-06 budget calendar; appoint budget committee members. 925-3262. ...

Wading through the paper bog: when it comes to managing workers' compensation claims, timeliness is crucial. New technology is helping to reduce time spent on claims, drive down costs and improve outcomes.
For years, claims adjusters in the workers' compensation industry have been bogged down with excessive paperwork, hours of manual data entry, fragmented communication among all parties involved in a claim and compliance with numerous state reporting laws and regulations. Today, new technology is helping adjusters automate and...

Costs of LTD and STD claims begin to bite: pressure mounts on companies to institute return-to-work programs for short- and long-term disability.
Long-term disability claims and their first cousins, short-term disability claims, are getting costly--so costly companies now have powerful economic incentive to institute return-to-work programs for disabled workers. It wasn't always so. "Fifteen years ago, long-term disability and short-term disability costs were chump change," said workers' comp consultant...

Keeping nurses safe: an industry perspective.
The decision by Contemporary Nurse to devote an entire issue to the subject of violence against nurses is a sober acknowledgment of the significance of violence as an occupational hazard for nurses. The serious nature of many attacks, and the potentially catastrophic effects of violence on victims, their families,...

WORKOUTS AT WORK.
Byline: Sherri Buri McDonald The Register-Guard WELLNESS RESOURCES Cascade Health Solutions: Eugene-based nonprofit health-promotion business. On the Web at www.cascadehealth.org. FitnessLink Inc.: Eugene-based wellness services provider. Web site under construction at www.fitnesslinkinc.com. 543-0566. OHSU Health Management Services: A self-supporting, nonprofit, health-promotion...

Cascading into Collapse: when lawyers and vendors make decisions about adjusting a claim at the expense of adjusters, it is the beginning of the end of a claims organization.
With lamp and gun, we explore the dark side of workers' compensation claims administration. We will follow, step by painful step, how a good claims operation can tumble into mediocrity. Take note: This happens more frequently than the industry would like to admit. Just as no bank...