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Workers' compensation costs are predicted to escalate in 2000, in spite of the millions of dollars being spent to reduce them. Tremendous opportunities are being created through industry's demand for more effective workers' comp and disability management programming. A recent interview with Kurt Fullmer, President/CEO, of ONECOMP Health Systems, shed some light on opportunities available to employers through a comprehensive work injury program designed to meet their individual needs without spending money on services that they don't need.

"In order to be competitive today, you have to provide a customized, integrated, comprehensive, work injury management services yourself or be aligned with a company that can." Why the move toward comprehensive work injury management programming by employers? "In the past, employers have attempted to solve work injury problems with single approach programming. This philosophy is demonstrated in the newly proposed OSHA Ergonomic Standard where OSHA has attempted to address all causes and cures for workplace musculoskeletal disorders through ergonomic remedy. While single approach programming will produce some success, it won't provide significant and consistent long-term reductions because it simply won't address all the problems. It's becoming more and more apparent to employers that in order to achieve the kinds of reductions they're looking for, they have to address work injury problems on all fronts beginning with aggressive prevention based programming that starts in the pre-hiring stage and ends with return to work programming that results in case closure."

"Additionally, both employers and insurance payors determined that controlling cost of medical services through managed care did not prove to be a profitable venture for the payor, employer, or the injured employee. Limited services and complicated approval and claims management processes prolonged recovery time for injured employees and cost employers millions. We know now that workers' compensation management is moving towards more integrated, comprehensive programming with a strong emphasis on utilizing industrial medicine specialists and service providers. New injury management philosophies include: a) "single point of contact" that manage injured workers from initial injury through return to work, with recovery as a primary goal from the beginning; b) industrial medicine specialists who diagnose more accurately, base their treatment protocols on proven clinical outcomes, and expedite safe-early return to work; and c) service providers who specialize in workers' comp case review and claims management. They provide accurate monitoring and specialized reporting that's critical to successful case closure." explains Fullmer.

The workers' compensation system pays both medical and wage replacement benefits, so there's a built-in incentive for both payors and clinicians to optimize functional recovery and return-to-work. This kind of programming utilizes industrial medicine specialists and service providers with a directed focus and commitment towards recovery, allows all major players with a stake in workers' compensation (employer, injured worker, clinician, claims administrator, etc.,) to win. It pays big dividends in the areas of employee safety, turnover reduction, health, and productivity and significantly improves the employers' bottom line. Finding companies that can actually deliver this type of programming successfully and affordably is another challenge employers will face.
"We're one of the first companies truly positioned to meet the challenge" states Fullmer. "Our mission in creating this company was two fold: a) offer employers the entire continuum of services necessary to effectively reduce injury and their related costs, and b) implement and manage those services successfully so that the efforts and resources invested result in the expected reductions. We feel we have the most comprehensive work injury program on the market today, and we're so convinced that our program will result in substantial savings for the employer that we're willing to guarantee savings or our services are free."

"To evalutate whether ONECOMP is right for an employer we ask a few key questions regarding their injuries. If the need for a risk analysis is there, then a comprehensive risk assessment is performed free of charge. This allows the provider, the employer, and ONECOMP to determine how to structure the program, and how to start."
An overly aggressive offering for a start-up? "Not really," explains Fullmer. "We're a new entity but we are certainly not new to the workers' compensation arena. The executive staff of ONECOMP brings a combined 50 years of knowledge and expertise to the table, in addition to the experience and knowledge our network of service providers contribute. We've not only survived in the industry, but we've actually lived long enough to share what we've learned and what works. That's just one of our competitive advantages! Another one is our ability to partner providers with the employers they service, and have both feeling good about the results they're able to accomplish with this program." CNG

For more information on ONECOMP, or questions about the ONECOMP Program in your area, contact Kurt Fullmer at 972-887-0489, Ext. 248, or e-mail him at kurtf@onecomp.com.

OneComp Health Systems, 4545 Fuller Dr., Suite 342, Las Colinas, TX 75038. Tel: 972-887-0489; Fax: 972-887-0060.