In order to self insure your workers compensation program in PA you must have a service provider with both appropriate credentials and 2 years safety experience. Notably occupational medicine physicians are top of the list for credentials followed by safety professionals and insurance credentials. One of the key aspects that makes occupational medicine so useful in a role like this is full capture from hazard recognition to control through health outcomes and an understanding of the insurance aspects. Occupational medicine training is truly intersectional in this domain.
Finding the right provider
This is an area where balancing depth and breadth of experience is important. Understanding the sector, safety trends and having external experience to bring translational ideas to the table all contributes to value.
Setting your provider up for success with data…
Once you have a provider key to their success is getting data. Understanding the number of safety events is important understanding the state of injury prevention for an employer. Comparing against insurance benchmarks can provide a sense of standing within an industry.
… and the power to effect change
Getting engagement with management and labor to discuss solutions is a critical next step. Once the data is understood, action and feedback come next. The safety team needs to have the power to effect organizational change is response to data. The team when properly empowered with a budget to affect positive change can potentially generate ROI.
Results
When an organization gets this right the value is demonstrable. Year-over-year cost trends can be compared internally and across industry. Safer workplaces make recruitment and retention easier. Retention enables better training of new staff and lower HR costs. Injury prevention is a unique part of the practice of occupational medicine in that it is one of the things that can be taken to scale