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Things you should know


Studies and reports:

The Relationship of the Amount of Physical Therapy to Time Lost From Work and Costs in the Workers' Compensation System - Journal of Occupational Medicine

Finding: Injured workers who take time off work to recover, and whose treatment includes more than 15 sessions of physical therapy, are out of the workforce longer and are six times more likely to cost more.



Suicide and drug-related mortality following occupational injury - American Journal of Industrial Medicine

Finding: Workplace injury significantly raises a person's risk of suicide or overdose death.



Fatal occupational injuries to independent workers - BLS

Finding: Fatalities among independent workers accounted for about 12% of all workplace deaths in 2016-2017, and independent workers have a disproportionately higher share of fatalities due to falls, slips and trips.



Interstate Variations in Dispensing of Opioids, 5th Edition - Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI)

Finding: In 27 states, fewer injured workers received opioids recently as compared with previous years. But, injured workers continue to be treated for pain, as non-opioid pain medications (e.g., NSAIDs) increased to a lesser degree and non-pharmacologic treatments (e.g., physical therapy) without pain medication were more frequently provided.



The effects of sleep on workplace cognitive failure and safety (Construction) - Oregon Healthy Workforce Center

Finding: Among construction workers, there is a connection between poor quality sleep and the risk of workplace incidents and injuries.



Calories Purchased by Hospital Employees After Implementation of a Cafeteria Traffic Light-Labeling and Choice Architecture Program - Massachusetts General Hospital

Finding: Implementation of a traffic light-labeling and choice architecture program was associated with a 6.2% decrease in calories per transaction over 2 years, including a 23.0% decrease in calories from the least healthy food.



Drug trends: Evaluating Opioids - Coventry

Finding: The prescribing of drugs meant to treat opioid use disorder increased 5.4% in 2018 among workers compensation claims and 1.8% of claims with high doses of opioids received naloxone - an anti-overdose medication - at almost double the amount from 2017.



2019 RIMS Benchmark Survey - Business Insurance

Finding: The average total cost of risk for businesses rose by 2.1% in 2018, reversing four years of declines.



Workplace Secondhand Tobacco Smoke Exposure Among U.S. Nonsmoking Workers, 2015 - CDC

Finding: Nearly 1 out of 5 workers are exposed to secondhand smoke on the job. Results identify industries most at risk.



Commercial motor vehicle brake inspection event set for Sept. 15 - 21

Commercial motor vehicle inspectors throughout North America will perform brake system examinations Sept. 15-21 during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's annual Brake Safety Week. While special emphasis will be placed on brake hoses and tubing, inspectors also will be looking for other critical non-brake-related violations.



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