Can Profiling Injured Workers in Tennessee Lead to Better Care?

By Thomas Greer | March 2, 2015

When a person is injured on the job in Tennessee, is there a way to predict how well a treatment plan will work? Are there outside predictors for worker outcomes that no one has examined? That is what the Workers Compensation Research Institute set out to find in its latest study conducted via telephone with 4,915 workers across 12 different states. Based on their findings, the Institute focused their second phase of the study on workers in four states – Arkansas, Connecticut, Iowa and Tennessee – to see if outside predictors (those not normally included in the data on worker injuries) could lead to better communication and treatment of injured workers.

Construction accidentIn phase two, the Institute spoke with 402 Tennessee workers. They discovered “trust in the workplace to be one of the more important predictors that has not been examined before.” Specifically, the researchers asked if the injured workers believed they might be fired because they had been hurt; nearly half of the participants (about 45%) said they were “somewhat or very concerned” that the injury might cost them their jobs.

The data also showed that many of the workers “had received treatment for [comorbid conditions such as] hypertension, diabetes, lung conditions, and heart problems” within a year of their injuries.

How the data may prove helpful

Let us say that a worker believes he could lose his job because of his injury. That worker may attempt to hasten his recovery by not reporting pain or side effects from the medication to his doctor, who would then allow him to return to work more quickly despite not being fully recovered.

Or let us say that a woman with a history of heart disease or conditions works in a high-stress environment, and suffers an injury while on the job. If her heart disease is not included as part of the required treatment, she runs the risk of suffering another injury while working.

By exploring this data, doctors are better able to determine whether or not a worker is likely to suffer a similar injury once he or she goes back to work. The WCRI believes that this “information about the predictors of poorer worker outcomes may allow payors and doctors in Tennessee to better target health care and return-to-work interventions to those most at risk,” which would not only save businesses money but also ensure that injured workers get the right kinds of treatment for their needs.

Are you getting the most you can from your treatment?

At Bailey & Greer PLLC, we make sure injured workers in West Tennessee get the help they need. To schedule an appointment with a skilled Memphis workers’ compensation attorney, we invite you to contact our office.

Posted in Blog, Workplace Injuries