How to reduce workplace injuries and improve your bottom line
How to reduce workplace injuries and improve your bottom line
We’ve all heard it: “Uhhh, Boss? I think I hurt myself.”
These words are guaranteed to cause your stomach to boil. Not only is one of your vital employees out of commission, but you now have to stop what you’re doing and coordinate First Aid. A little voice in the back of your head is whispering, “Don’t forget the paperwork.” And as luck would have it, you're in the midst of a project that must be completed by the end of the week. Ah, the joys of management!
Workplace injuries impact our bottom line in more ways than one. Direct costs include: production down time, time lost, medical bills, and other out-of-pocket expenses. Many times, however, it's the indirect costs that blow the lid off the total cost of an injury - time is money.
Indirect costs include:
Taking the time to get them treated
Deciding if they need to see a doctor
Getting them to the doctor
Determining how to get them back to work without injuring them or someone else
Treat and release
But it doesn't have to be this difficult. What if I told you that you could make one phone call and have it all taken care of. With one call, Cascade Health Solutions' MedExpress injury response team will deploy a highly skilled and specially trained EMT or paramedic to evaluate your employee onsite and will either take them to the doctor, or treat and release them back to work. Good news!
MedExpress has been helping Lane County businesses in this way since 1990, and we are pretty good at it. As of February 2012, we have treated and released 46 percent of our calls, ultimately improving our clients' bottom line.
How does treating and releasing affect the bottom line? Because it's considered First-Aid treatment, you don't have to file a worker's compensation claim.
In addition to treating and releasing, we also:
Provide the patient and supervisor after-care instructions
Advise the patient and supervisor how to avoid agitating the injury
Revisit the worksite within five business days to ensure the injury is healing as it should
Your employee goes right back to work, you go right back to work, no driving, waiting, or filling out forms!
Costs and benefits
Injuries cost money, period. A medical-treatment-only claim typically costs around $1,000 when you include indirect costs. MedExpress costs $175, so each time we treat and release we save you about $800. When transporting a worker is necessary, you will most likely have to file a claim.
However, by using our service, you eliminate any personal liability for transporting the worker and remain on task while your worker is being treated - no wasted time waiting in the lobby at an urgent care or emergency room. And our cost is the same.
Avoiding workplace injuries
Your first line of defense is prevention. At Cascade Health Solutions, we offer a variety of services that can assist you in preventing injuries in the workplace, such as drug testing, medical surveillance testing and health and wellness programs. I also recommend that you call your Workers Compensation Insurance provider and ask to speak to a Loss Control Specialist, whose sole job is to help you avoid injuries at work.
Injuries will happen, but that doesn't mean work must come to a standstill. If you're interested in learning more, we can help - contact us at 541-228-3111. Together, we can ensure that the next time you get that tap on your door and the dreaded "Uhhh, Boss?" The only thing that the little voice in your head will be whispering is "Call MedExpress."
Last modified on Monday, 16 July 2012