Health Wonk Review & other noteworthy news

May 8th, 2014 by Julie Ferguson

Health Wonk Review – Jason Shafrin hosts a not-to-be-missed HWR fit for a King at his blog, Healthcare Economist. Find out what’s on LeBron James’ mind, among other things! Lots of good links to the best of the health wonk blogosphere in this edition.
Challenges – In this week’s Insurance Journal, Andrea Wells has an excellent article on 10 Challenges Ahead for Workers’ Compensation. It’s a must-read overview of key issues: Industry experts weigh in on technology, opioids, ACA, terorism, safety & more. We are pleased that our own Tom Lynch is featured discussing how the work comp industry is lagging in technology and his vision for what could be.
Case Law to Watch – At Risk & Insurance, Roberto Ceniceros talks about a case involving a drug-related death that is scheduled to be heard by the California Supreme Court in his post Drug and Death Connection. He says, “the court will determine whether a commercial insurer should be financially responsible for the death of a worker who died from an accidental overdose a year after being injured on the job.”
AccountabilityRousmaniere: Who Protects Workers from Injury? – “This messy mix of private and public sector parties engaged in work injury risk is similar, a risk consultant told me, to how risks are dealt with in other areas of the economy. Too bad the parties don’t talk with each other that much.”
TravestyCrisis of veterans’ suicides is too often ignored – “The Veterans Administration says 22 veterans kill themselves every day. Think about it. In March, not a single American service member was killed in action in Afghanistan or Iraq. But during that month, almost 700 veterans committed suicide.”
The Future WorkplaceEmerging tech is transforming the workplace – “While smart mobile devices, SaaS, and social software ushered in a wave of major change in the workplace, that’s nothing compared to what’s coming.”
Language – At the WorkCompEdge Blog, Kory Wells asks Are You Using These Five Words When You Talk About Workers’ Comp? She cites a study of the 5 most persuasive words in the English language and looks at how this language relates to the world of work comp.
TrustIf I Could Teach The World to Sing – Dave DePaolo talks about trust and gratitude in the world of workers’ comp. His thoughts remind us that despite our focus on the process, we need to remember that at the very heart of things, workers comp is about a human event: a person got injured at work.
Safety AdvancesCollision Avoidance Systems Can Decrease Accidents 44% – no small prospect given that vehicular injuries / fatalities consistently rank right up there in terms of work exposures.
More News of Note