When an on-the-job injury occurs, the initial response can be critical in aiding an employee in making the right decisions about what type of care they need. Injured workers need to trust that their employer will support them with the resources needed to make the best choices.

Coventry had the opportunity to work with a national client who wanted to evaluate its processes and create a solution to help improve the injured worker experience. They turned to Coventry to enhance their program and decrease lag times from the date an injury occurred to the date it was reported.

To do this, Coventry embarked on a mission to make its nurse resources available to their injured workers immediately to help navigate the most appropriate course of action for a sustained injury. They also had a goal to implement nurse triage into their claims administration and reporting process to achieve the following:

— Improve the injured worker experience by eliminating confusion and frustration
— Triage injured workers on a timely basis to the right level of care for the sustained injury
— Convey that they cared for their employees
— Reduce the use of the emergency room as a first level provider for non-emergent injuries
— Offer telemedicine services as a convenient and cost-effective solution for injuries warranting remote assessment — Reduce litigation due to a lack of understanding the system and benefits available

When injuries occur at work, many employees aren’t sure what to do. They may go to their family health care provider, who may not be in-network, or go to an urgent care clinic or the emergency room. This can result in unnecessary costs and aggravated conditions for employees. In addition, without access to a nurse resource, an injured employee often has to rely on a front-line supervisor to know what to do (i.e., whether to call 911 or tell the employee to go to the emergency room or an urgent care clinic). The consequences of such scenarios can be over- or under-treatment, employees who don’t follow a treatment plan, or an employer/employee relationship that may be on shaky ground. To assist in addressing these concerns,

Coventry developed a nurse triage solution to fit the client’s specific needs, and in 2017 they launched their program with key clients. Here are the results they recently published for this program.

— Average reporting lag for non-traumatic cases from injury to time of reporting declined from 7.4 days to 1 day
— Injured employees are put in immediate contact with a nurse and receive the most appropriate course of action
— Litigation rates dropped 3% and NT24 is considered to be the main attributing factor
— The experience modification of the program is expected to improve due to fewer medical-only claims being reported — Average 31% decline annually in medical-only claims resulted in savings in both administrative and medical costs

The program has been a complete success. Not only did it achieve the initial goals of improving the injured worker experience by providing a timely, trusted resource, it also delivered amazing results in the form of reduced reporting lag time, reduced litigation, more appropriate utilization, and financial savings.