Injury Management Process
and Preventing “PD”
For most employees, being injured at work is a first time event. It can
be a confusing and frightening experience that can negatively shape an employees'
attitude about their employer. Or, it can be an opportunity for the employer
to demonstrate care and concern for an injured worker, improving employee
morale, allaying fears and accelerating recovery time.
Employers who have not defined and documented an Injury Management Process
further take the risk of exposing the injured worker to yet another Workers'
Compensation hazard. Case Management professionals fondly refer to this
condition as “Process Deficiency” or “PD.”
You will not find a CPT code that matches the diagnosis, “Process
Deficiency,” but every case manager recognizes the signs and symptoms
of PD when reported by injured workers.
Process Deficiency is far more serious than you think; in fact PD may far
outweigh the severity of the primary injury, profoundly affecting the injured
worker and employer. PD is more prevalent than imagined and certainly is
at the root cause of litigation. To make matters worse, the prognosis for
PD is always the same: a delayed recovery and/or an unnecessary absence
from work.
All employers, regardless of size, revenue, industry or location must develop
and communicate an Injury Management Process that will contain a structured
sequence of activities with a single goal in mind: taking care of the injured
worker from the time of the injury until the return to full duty.
Prevent PD from affecting your injured workers by putting an Injury Management
Process into action today!
As Level 5 WorkComp Advisors, we are experts in injury management. For more
information about developing a customized Injury Management Process, contact
us.
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