Workplace injury management
Informed, efficient work injury management involves all the essential steps needed to help employers and employees achieve the outcome they both want — getting injured workers the care they need and back on the job. Establishing workplace injury protocols and ensuring employers, supervisors, managers and employees understand them is key in ensuring the injury management process is effective.
Employer benefits of a workplace injury program
A thorough work injury management program should include access to experienced, knowledgeable medical professionals and can result in:
- Improved incident reporting lag times
- Improved PPO penetration and stay-at-work outcomes
- Decreased claims severity
- Reduced litigation rates and costs
- Removal of responsibility for medical decisions
Benefits to the injured employee
In addition to immediate consultation with experienced health professionals who can make recommendations for the best possible post-incident care, employees can experience:
- Reduced need for time-consuming visits to clinics or emergency rooms
- Reduction in unnecessary testing or procedures
- Decreased time away from work
Responding to work-related injuries
Without proper, fast response to an injury on the job, an injured worker may remain on costly, long-term leave. In a worst-case scenario, it can mean a valued team member never returns to the job. Taking the right actions, however, can help your workers recover more quickly and help keep your workplace fully operational.
Zurich’s Workplace Injury Triage
Zurich’s work injury management service, Workplace Injury Triage, responds to workplace injuries immediately with a dedicated, toll-free phone line available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for supervisors and injured workers to consult a registered nurse for recommendations on when first aid is appropriate, when off-site treatment may be necessary or when a virtual telemedicine evaluation may meet response needs.
Minor injuries that could respond favorably to on-site first aid are often referred off-site for care that is more expensive, more time-consuming and yet no more effective. Employees seeking treatment from an out-of-network provider may find that the system emphasizes increased utilization, potentially raising costs for both employer and employee. Through the immediate consultation, these inefficient and costly approaches may be avoided.
The nurse on the call puts the triage process in motion, and once the injury is assessed, recommendations can be made for onsite or offsite evaluation and treatment. In some instances, a referral for a telemedicine consultation may be made.* The nurse will confirm first aid or off-site treatment recommendations with the supervisor. A detailed incident report will be sent to all designated recipients and injured workers can call at any time with any questions, changes in condition or concerns. Each of these stages are important in successful workplace injury case management.
Return-to-Work Program
Zurich’s Workplace Injury Triage service aligns with our Return-to-Work Program. Learn more about this combined strategy to help achieve better employee injury outcomes in our fact sheet, Response, Recovery and Return to Work.
*Telemedicine services not available for consultation related to workers’ compensation claims in select states.
Disclaimer
The information in this publication was compiled from sources believed to be reliable for informational purposes only. All sample policies and procedures herein should serve as a guideline, which you can use to create your own policies and procedures. We trust that you will customize these samples to reflect your own operations and believe that these samples may serve as a helpful platform for this endeavor. Any and all information contained herein is not intended to constitute advice (particularly not legal advice). Accordingly, persons requiring advice should consult independent advisors when developing programs and policies. We do not guarantee the accuracy of this information or any results and further assume no liability in connection with this publication and sample policies and procedures, including any information, methods or safety suggestions contained herein. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any of this information, whether to reflect new information, future developments, events or circumstances or otherwise. Moreover, Zurich reminds you that this cannot be assumed to contain every acceptable safety and compliance procedure or that additional procedures might not be appropriate under the circumstances. The subject matter of this publication is not tied to any specific insurance product nor will adopting these policies and procedures ensure coverage under any insurance policy. Insurance coverages underwritten by individual member companies of Zurich in North America, including Zurich American Insurance Company. Certain coverages not available in all states. Some coverages may be written on a nonadmitted basis through licensed surplus lines brokers. Risk engineering services are provided by The Zurich Services Corporation.