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CONFERENCE AGENDA

Challenges & Innovations in Workers' Compensation

This is a time of great uncertainty and change in the world, in the U.S., and in workers’ compensation. This conference explores some of those challenges and highlights innovative approaches that are being developed to better manage them. Of course, we will preview the latest WCRI studies, especially those that address these challenges.

Conference Program: 

DAY 1  1:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Reflections on the First 100 Years
In celebration of the centennial of the first workers’ compensation laws, WCRI has asked Professor Peter Barth to offer his reflections on the success and limitations of the systems in the U.S. Professor Barth has been a student of workers’ compensation since the early 1970s as Executive Director of the National Commission on State Workmen’s Compensation Laws. The National Commission was the catalyst for massive change in state systems during the subsequent two decades.

 

Managing and Regulating Hospital Costs

WCRI studies identify hospital costs as the major medical cost driver in many states. In this session, we will unveil a new WCRI Hospital Cost Index that helps policymakers and stakeholders better manage this cost driver. Speakers include a senior public official, who will discuss the challenges in regulating hospital prices; and a hospital representative, who will discuss what hospitals need from payers and regulators.

 

Strengthening Public Policies to Manage Prescription Costs and Use
A recent WCRI study found that Washington State had among the lowest costs of pharmaceuticals in the U.S. In this session, Washington public officials explain the policies that produced these results. Other panelists will identify the current opportunities and barriers in other states that inhibit adoption of practices used in Washington.

 

DAY 2  8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

 

Improving Patient Care Involving Narcotics

The use, abuse and diversion of narcotics are major public health problems. Unintentional drug overdose deaths have doubled since 2000. A debate is underway about how best to manage the use of narcotics. This session examines the use of narcotics to treat injured workers, physician best practices in prescribing narcotics and managing patients, and the adequacy of public policies in this area.

Alternative Approaches to Managing Chronic Pain
This session examines an emerging body of evidence of the impact of cognitive interventions in cases with chronic pain. When an injured worker experiences longer-term chronic pain, it is the ultimate lose-lose for the worker and the employer. A common course of care involves narcotics, injections, and surgeries. This can be expensive for the employer and has uncertain outcomes for the worker. Recent studies and the experiences of some clinicians have found significant reductions in pain and increases in function and life-participation when the treatments emphasize meditation or cognitive restructuring.

WCRI Research Sampler (several to be selected)
     ►The equity, adequacy and efficacy of workers’ compensation benefits
     ►Impact of physician ownership of ambulatory surgery centers
     ►Comparing medical prices in workers’ compensation and group health insurance
     ►Workers’ Compensation Medical Price Index, 3rd Edition
     ►The newest CompScope™ benchmarking results

Elephant in the Room
In this session, WCRI’s Executive Director, Richard Victor, focuses on an underappreciated problem that will shape employers’ costs and workers’ outcomes for decades to come. His goal is to be both provocative and educational.