Ergonomic solutions are not one-size-fits-all. People come in different sizes and shapes. Proper ergonomics for one person may not fit someone else. Effective ergonomic solutions in healthcare will be very different from solutions in an industrial setting. So what is “essential” depends on your industry, workplace environment and specific jobs your employees perform.

As your company’s workers’ comp pro, you know your annual premiums are “confirmed” by a year-end audit. You can’t avoid this audit, but you can be well-prepared for it. Preparation is the key to a workers’ compensation audit that goes smoothly and produces desirable results. Lack of preparation can bring disastrous results, in the form of higher premiums.

Is it possible that post-offer employment testing (POET) could make our highways safer? We recently read an article that made a good case for pre-employment testing of commercial truck drivers. The article suggested that routinely testing candidates can uncover serious, relevant medical conditions that may limit his or her ability to perform the essential functions of their job. And that may help avoid catastrophic highway accidents.

Every job requires some amount of movement. But certain jobs are much more challenging than others. Ergonomic evaluation defines the physical movements needed to perform any given job. More importantly, these evaluations can be used to determine if any of these movements are unsafe or can potentially lead to a work-related injury.

Offering rehab at work is something every company should seriously consider. It is an important first step in establishing a formal Return-to-Work (RTW) program. And it can boost the effectiveness of your existing RTW program. Studies show that having a program in place gets people back to work sooner.

As a workers’ comp pro, you’re smart to recommend that your company implement post-offer employment testing (POET). But every pre-employment test is not created equal. When you know what to look for, you can help your company create the most valuable POET program.  

As a workers’ compensation professional, your goal is to get injured workers back on the job as soon as possible. But the last thing you want is to have workers return too soon. That’s a recipe for poor job performance and re-injury. And those costs can quickly erase any early RTW savings. Accelerated physical therapy is a smarter, more effective approach to treating injured workers. 

As a workers’ compensation professional, the last thing you want is repeat injuries. These injuries are expensive. They are avoidable. And no employer wants to see their people get hurt. But what if you didn’t care? Let’s take a tongue-in-cheek look at how to make sure your injured worker gets reinjured.