Newsletter Sign-up

Employers looking to keep their employees off their short-term disability rolls may want to consider predictive analytics and stepped-up interventions. A new report from Cigna suggests the combination may reduce the incidence of STD among employees at high-risk of experiencing a disability in the next year.

Integrating safety efforts for patients and workers in health care establishments can be a win-win for all involved and improve the bottom line, suggests a new monograph. It says there is a connection between worker safety and patient safety and that synergies can be created to benefit both.

"Marijuana remains a drug listed in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. It remains unacceptable for any safety-sensitive employee subject to drug testing under the Department of Transportation's drug testing regulations to use marijuana."

Lifestyle and wellness interventions may help prevent the onset or exacerbation of joint pain among employees, according to researchers. Additionally, providing the proper equipment and tools can help.

"The California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation is pleased to announce the unanimous election of Commissioner Martin Brady as the Chair of the Commission for 2013," said the commission in a statement.

The price differences between brand-name and generic drugs is more than 35 percent, according to a new report. In fact, it is "the largest widening of brand and generic prices since Express Scripts began calculating its Prescription Price Index in 2008."

"Nanotechnology is a rapidly emerging material science technology that has been identified as a critical U.S. scientific and commercial enterprise with global economic benefits," says the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Workers' comp claims involving comorbidities add up to big bucks for payers, according to new research. NCCI says the medical costs for these claims are "about twice the $6,000 average for other injured workers' claims."

Five occupations accounted for nearly 20 percent of the days away from work cases in 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Musculoskeletal disorder cases were also prevalent in three of those occupations.

While only 2.6 percent of California's workers' comp claims are due to joint pain, nearly 7 percent of all system payments go toward these claims, says a new report. The data reflects the "subjective nature of many of these injuries."

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that California residents using medical marijuana permitted by state law but prohibited by federal law was an illegal use of drugs under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

"Investigate and take a position on approaches to curb escalating opioid-related insurance costs" is among the charges adopted by a panel of state lawmakers.

Reducing costs and administrative delays are among the goals of the New York Workers' Compensation Board. The panel announced planned changes to the medical treatment guidelines adopted in 2010.

An employee removing cardboard stacks from a pallet tripped over a pallet jack, fell backwards, and fractured his wrist. A sales employee coming in from the rain into a warehouse slipped, resulting in a sprained shoulder. An auto detailer slipped on ice and suffered brain injury.

The Bureau of Workers' Compensation proposed changes to the professional provider and medical services fee schedule.