On Wednesday, October 8, I will be presenting at the 2014 Business Insurance Workers Comp & Safety Virtual Conference. I certainly hope you will be able to join us for this great event where I will speak about Affordable Care Act (ACA) advancemen…
The rate at which hospitals and health systems are acquiring physician practices and hiring physicians from private practice continues to increase steadily. In the 2012 annual report published by Merritt Hawkins, it is reported that solo practices …
Medical directors with California-based hospital systems recently met for a discussion focused on the quality of medical care provided to Sedgwick workers’ compensation clients. We covered many areas, including provider scoring, fraud, legal challe…
. The goals of such programs include the delivery of high quality medical and disability services, the establishment of a collaborative, proactive strategy designed to produce results, and the creation of a culture of health, wellness, and safety a…
Providing safe care to children and avoiding liability is a top concern for most emergency department (ED) providers and facilities. ED use by children under age six is frequent, accounting for more than 30 million encounters and 24 percent of annu…
You need to be prepared when they do! Because we are the leave administrator for many large employers, since the first of the year, Sedgwick has received an increased number of requests to assist our clients with Department of Labor (DOL) inquires …
When the Affordable Care Act (ACA), courts and differing points of view are all mentioned in the same sentence it should not surprise anyone, should it? If you watch Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show, he has a regular feature called "Pros and Cons" of…
Stress in the workplace is a public health issue that the World Health Organization called the “health epidemic of the 21st century.” According to the 2013 Stress in the Workplace national survey by the American Psychological Association, 65% of U.S…
I think everyone reading this blog has been touched by alcohol or substance abuse in their lifetime, whether personally or through the experience of an acquaintance, a family member, a close friend, a classmate or a colleague. We know the dangers of …
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has gotten a lot of national attention lately due to several disturbing events on military bases. However, PTSD is not limited to veterans and those who have been exposed to war. It is a complex disorder that can…
The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) research paper on Stress in the workplace highlights the costly impact of stress and mental health issues on workplace injuries and illness, including higher risk of injury, medical treatment, lost time f…
Imagine a young father of two (Jim) who goes to work one day and sustains a minor back injury. He sees a doctor and is told he can work, but could not lift over 25 pounds. Jim’s employer would not take him back unless he could perform all essential…
A commercial ran recently where a man getting in his car sees a sticky note on his window. When he reads the note it says, "you are going to have a heart attack today." The voiceover states, "It's too bad we aren't notified when we are going to have …
$317.5 billion – it’s a figure that gets employers to sit up and take notice. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this is the total for direct and indirect costs of treating mental health disorders annually. Numbers l…
Employers struggle with the question of "How do you begin to wrap your arms around this thing called ADA?" – facing challenges from the Americans with Disabilities Act and the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA). Often, employers face two common compliance g…