Helping Healthcare Workers Stay Healthy and Injury Free

Report recommends steps to care for injured healthcare workers

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May 13, 2014, 10:53 ET

KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The fast-growing healthcare industry is diligent about safe patient handling and event reporting. But a recent report looks at how this industry frequently lacks the time or resources to make workers' compensation and post-injury management a priority for their own injured employees.

Cases of non-fatal occupational injury and illness for healthcare workers are among the highest of any industry. (PRNewsFoto/Lockton)

The report, authored by insurance broker Lockton's Beth Wood, is titled "Seven Way to Take Care of Your Caregivers: Best Practices for Post-injury Care in Healthcare." Wood explains how employers in the healthcare industry can improve how they take care of employees after they have been injured.

"There are proven realistic and effective approaches to post-injury management in the healthcare environment," said Wood. "Many of these approaches have been implemented by Lockton clients, either partially or completely, resulting in improved medical outcomes for their injured employees, reductions in lost-time days, shortened disability durations, decreased litigation rates, and lowered workers' compensation costs."

Some of the strategies discussed include:

Centralization of the post-injury management process
Development and execution of a practical, effective transitional duty program
Periodic measurement of program objectives

Lockton recommends risk managers determine what is driving both the frequency and severity of workers' compensation costs and set appropriate program goals. It is also important for a healthcare organization's executives to demonstrate that patient safety and employee safety are equally important, both from a prevention and response perspective.

The insurance broker is making the full report available free at its website, www.lockton.com.

About Lockton

More than 4,900 professionals at Lockton provide 35,000 clients around the world with risk management, insurance, and employee benefits consulting services that improve their businesses. From its founding in 1966 in Kansas City, Missouri, Lockton has attracted entrepreneurial professionals who have driven its growth to become the largest privately held insurance broker in the world and 9th largest overall. Independent researcher Greenwich Associates has awarded Lockton its Service Excellence Award for risk management for large companies. For five consecutive years, Business Insurance has recognized Lockton as a "Best Place to Work in Insurance." To see the latest insights from Lockton's experts, check Lockton Market Update.

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SOURCE Lockton