TRIAGE: IMPROVED RESPONSE CAN SAVE COSTS

When an injury occurs at your worksite, your first responsibility is to ensure your employee receives prompt and proper treatment based on the severity of the injury. Triage systems can help.

In some cases, your injured employee's supervisor or in-house first aider might not be able to accurately assess what level of care an injured or ill employee needs. You wouldn't want someone to think that the injury isn't serious enough to go through an emergency room wait and delay important medical treatment. On the other hand, going to the local emergency room or urgent care facility for minor medical treatment can get expensive. In addition, your employee and accompanying supervisor can experience an incredibly long wait while other, more seriously injured or ill patients are taken first.

So what other options do employers have? Triage systems use specially trained nurses who can provide immediate assessments and treatment options, no matter what time of day or night. They can help employers obtain the appropriate level of care for injured employees, and reduce costs for that care.

With telephone or online triage, when an injury occurs, the patient or the first responder accesses a 24/7 network of triage nurses. The nurses are trained in clinical algorithms designed by physicians and nurses experienced in occupational health and emergency medicine. The on-duty nurse gathers information related to the injury. Some systems offer translation services, if needed. Through the use of the software and professional judgment, the nurse can recommend first-line treatment for the patient and set up referrals, as needed. Some systems now use Web cameras as well, so the nurse or medical provider can see the patient and provide an even more accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.

In addition to ensuring proper treatment, triage systems can help employers with their injury reporting and documentation tasks. Using information from the injured employee or supervisor, the on-call nurse can complete required forms. The system can generate an online report sent directly to the employer's safety, human resource or risk management person for workers' compensation and OSHA 300 log filing. Everyone who needs to know of the injury is in the communication loop almost immediately.

One study has shown that employers utilizing this type of triage system have reduced workers' compensation claim costs by 30 percent by reducing unnecessary trips to the emergency room and time away from work. Using this system has also reduced unnecessary and unsubstantiated claims. Triage systems can also assist in the return-to-work process by recommending light-duty or modified tasks appropriate for the worker's condition.

As technology continues to develop, opportunities will increase for ensuring employees get prompt medical care coupled with a balanced cost-saving program. For more information on this and other cost-control strategies, please contact the PCOC Insurance Program department of Jenkins Insurance Services at (877) 860-7378, or email us at ProPest@Leavitt.com.

Pest Control Operators of California
www.pcoc.org

The Voice of PCOC digital magazine