Quick and clean – here’s what else was going on last week.
First, hands OFF the Ebola panic button. Yes, a nurse who treated the Liberian man in Dallas has reportedly been diagnosed with the disease. That makes TWO people in this country – out of 320 million. By way of comparison, more left-handed redheads with Lynryd Skynryd tattoos have been bitten by sharks wearing dentures than have contracted Ebola…
Hank Stern has a post wondering why some treatments for autism aren’t covered for people over 21. Kaiser Health News spoke to an expert who thinks these treatments will be covered as soon as someone initiates a legal challenge; the key is the Mental Health Parity law, which prohibits discrimination based on “quantitative” measures – age is one.
Work comp
Kudos to Arizona for pushing forward on opioid and pain management guidelines. The guidelines and the draft rules to implement them are slated to be completed by the end of this year – and it’s obvious there’s been a lot of thought put in to implementation. Greg Jones has the details at WorkCompCentral. [subscription required]
WCC’s Joey Berlin has the news that Tennessee is also working on opioid/pain guidelines, and his sources appear to be very well tuned in to issues related to comp – such as workers prescribed opioids who are still on the job.
This is very, very good news. And, with this am’s WorkCompCentral reporting three other southeastern states are exploring adopting guidelines it is clear that the powers-that-can in many states are rapidly moving to address the issue. Side note – the folks interviewed for the WCC article have a high level of understanding of guidelines and differentiation amongst different types – good news indeed.
The good folk in Oregon have released their biannual report comparing states’ workers’ comp premiums; California has the highest rates, followed by three northeastern states – Connecticut New York and New Jersey. Kudos to Jay Dotter and Mike Manley for their work – which is always eagerly anticipated as it is the only survey of its kind.
Texas’ work comp research folks published their annual report – WorkCompWire has the info here.
WCRI’s webinar on research into predictors of worker outcomes has been heavily subscribed, so capacity for the webinar has been doubled. Sign up here.
Don’t miss Dr Jake Lazarovic’s article on Accountable Care Organizations and work comp. The Medical Director for Broadspire has penned a solid piece on what ACOs are, how they operate, and how they may affect workers comp.
Finally, don’t forget to sign up for the Women in Worker’s Comp confab in Vegas just before the NWCDC. Kudos to Healthcare Solutions for putting this together…
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