A tailored, interdisciplinary, multicomponent approach to decreasing workers ’ compensation claims and costs in a hospital system: A retrospective study

AbstractGoalHealthcare is the leading profession for risk of injury with workers face a number of potential risk factors leading to musculoskeletal disorders. One method to promote safety for healthcare workers is with body mechanics training and ergonomics. Evidence suggests multicomponent interventions are required for successful safe patient handling programs. While numerous studies have considered interventions for nurses and nursing programs, few have targeted both patient handling and non-patient handling employees simultaneously in a healthcare setting. Our main objective is to describe the implementation of a tailored multicomponent program (TMP) to address the needs of each department within a healthcare setting and examine the percentage of subsequent claims and overall costs reported.MethodsThe TMP was designed to combine department specific and employee specific evaluations and interventions to address workplace needs for all employees. Physical therapists implemented a combination of tailored hands on inservices, orientations, ergonomic assessments, physical therapy screens, return to work appointments, and education sessions over a period of six years. By tailoring the approach for each department, the TMP could focus on employee safety and environmental awareness, ultimately lower the risk of injury, claims and costs.Principal FindingsResults demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in workers ’ compensation claims and overall costs in the years foll...
Source: Journal of Healthcare Risk Management - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: HUMAN CAPITAL Source Type: research