Your managed care organization (MCO) utilizes a case manager to navigate the workers compensation system to ensure that your employees receive the best care, and that your company meets its workers’ comp goals. They create bonds with your injured workers to combating drug abuse and helping keep your workers’ comp claims out of court.
They’re great at building trust
Injured workers are cut off from their coworkers, cut off from their regular routine, and cut off from the security of their regular paycheck. With so much disruption, it can be hard for these workers to feel like they can trust anyone in the workers’ comp system.
Year over year, nursing tops the list of most trusted professions in annual Gallup polls. Not only do nurse case managers help your injured workers get the best care and help them return to work faster, but they also help your workers understand the process and guide them through their recovery. Your injured worker will have greater trust in your MCO when they know that a nurse case manager has their back.
They keep injured employees (and you) on track
For injured workers, navigating the workers’ comp system can be terrifying. Trying to understand medical terminology, how the process works, all the regulations, and the jargon can quickly become overwhelming. It can be very easy feel lost in the system.
With a vast knowledge of both medical care and how the workers’ comp system works, your case manager can help educate injured workers about the process. When injured workers are better educated, they’re able to take a more proactive role in their own recovery and less likely to feel lost within the system.
They help combat drug dependency and abuse
Over the last decade, the medical industry, including the workers’ comp system, has had to grapple with the effects of over prescription of opioid pain killers and the resulting addiction in injured workers. By following best practices and observing claims, a case manager can help stop drug dependency and abuse in its tracks.
Your case manager take an active role in managing claims, ensuring that prescribed medications meet best practice guidelines for pain management. When opioid medications are prescribed, case managers follow-up regularly with the injured worker, the treating physician, and all others involved to ensure that the worker doesn’t develop an addiction.
They’re return to work experts
The longer an employee is out of the workplace, the costlier their claim becomes, and the more likely they are to never return to work. Your case manager work with every party in the claim to help identify the earliest opportunity for injured workers to return to work.
Since case managers develop a working, trusting relationship with the injured worker, they can identify issues both directly related to the injury and ancillary issues that may impact the employee’s return. By developing a deeper relationship with the injured worker, case managers can help identify the best early return to work opportunities for your employees.
Advocating for you
Helping you and your injured workers navigate the workers’ compensation system, learn more about the BWC, and understand how the process works are just a few of the goals of your MCO’s case managers. Your MCO serves both the best interest of your company and your employees. Having a partner in your corner that you trust to look out for the best interests of your employees while returning them to work quickly and keeping your workers’ compensation costs down is vital to the success of your business. An MCO partner like Sheakley UniComp can guide you and your workers through the often-confusing world of workers’ compensation, helping your employees return to work quickly and safely.
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