Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Training Videos Added

We are pleased to announce that 6 new sexual harassment and discrimination training videos have been added to the customer portal. The videos are in English and Spanish and cover the office and industrial settings. There are management and employee editions also available and all videos have the associated training documents. Please contact me at patricia.allen@mtmic.com/blog or 248-715-0013 with questions or for access to the portal.

By Donna Motley, Vice President of Claims

Our office will periodically receive telephone calls from insureds with questions concerning the occupational clinic they utilize, i.e. where should they send employees, does MTMIC have to approve the clinic, what clinics are near their facility, are some clinics better than others, should bills for service be sent directly to the insured or MTMIC, etc.? Our advice is always the same: an employer should develop a relationship with an occupational clinic that is close to their facility. You should be able to call your clinic and talk “one on one” with the staff – including the physicians. In most cases, they will welcome the opportunity.

MTMIC’s Claims Department reviews all medical records and bills related to work injuries. At the end of last year, a couple of issues arose on a couple of claims that involved 4 Concentra Occupational Clinics. Two cases involved continued treatment without authorization, another involved a physician refusing to comment on “causal relationship” and the last involved Concentra’s billing department changing their mind about a verbal compromise agreement in a litigated case. As I had recently attended a seminar sponsored by Concentra, I was aware of their alleged treatment and procedure philosophies. SO, I contacted the Concentra Medical Director and Concentra Director of Sales. The Medical Director, who is a doctor, called me to discuss the particulars of the cases. We did not necessarily agree on what constitutes proper protocol, but he asked that I follow up our conversation with written proofs. Which I did. (I had also consulted legal counsel to assure I was accurate in my interpretation of the Workers’ Compensation Act on which I based my contentions – and I was.) After going back and forth a couple of times, I am happy to say we have been able to amicably resolve all issues.

A couple of weeks ago, Kimberly Davis and I met with the Concentra Medical Director and the Sales Director to discuss the Workers’ Compensation industry and the roll each of us assume. All parties felt it was a very positive and enlightening meeting. There are 16 Concentra locations in the Metropolitan area and 2 locations in Grand Rapids. I know a vast number of our insureds utilize Concentra’s services. A Concentra advantage – they employ 28 specialty doctors that include Orthopedic Surgery, Hand Surgery, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Spine Surgery, Hand Plastic Surgery and Foot & Ankle Orthopedic Surgery. This means we can usually obtain a quicker referral to a specialist. All of the specialty physicians have their own practice and treat outside of Concentra as well. They are not “just a clinic doctor”.

We have also been given a list of each Center Medical Director, Center Therapy Director, Center Operations Director and Center Sales Manager for each Concentra location. We have been encouraged to call any of the Directors at any time to discuss any issue that may arise. They encourage open communication between the employee, employer and insurance carrier. They agreed that employers should invite the clinic doctor to walk through the employer’s facility and look at individual jobs and functions being performed so they better understand an injury and how to treat same.

Overall, Concentra seems earnest in providing quality care and working with employers and employees for a successful outcome in returning the employee to work. What started out as a service complaint resulted in a closer working “partnership”. We will soon be touring a Concentra facility and so can you!

By Donna Motley, Vice President of Claims 

On Monday, July 20, 2015, we arrived at work to start another week. Facing us were telephone calls, mail, faxes and e-mail, all part of everyday business. But one of the telephone calls we received relayed upsetting news. Sharon Medwid, one of the owners of Three M Tool & Machine, one of our long time insureds, had a fatal accident. With the exception of a one year break in service, Three M Tool & Machine has been insured with us since 1980. After that length of time, you are more like family. Over the last couple of years, I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Sharon on one or two particular files, so I was able to have multiple, lengthy conversations with her. In my lifetime I have what I consider “favorite people”, and Sharon was quickly added to that list of no more than 10.

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By Donna Motley, Vice President of Claims

Injuries seem to run in cycles. During the course of the year, we will see a rash of a particular type of injury. At certain times, it will seem like we receive an above average amount of hernia claims, or shoulder injuries, or foot injuries, etc. This past November and December, we received an inordinate number of head and/or face/mouth injuries.

ANY injury to the head is serious. ANY injury to the head should be called in to us immediately. ANY injury to the head should be treated immediately. A visit to the occupational clinic is fine; if the clinic feels it is warranted, they will refer the injured worker to the emergency room where, most likely, a CT Scan may be performed. You want to avoid the employee indicating they are “fine”, then going home and deciding later that evening that they need medical treatment and they then go to the emergency room without authorization.

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By Ruth Kiefer, ARM, MSc, Loss Control Manager

I know we just came out of the season of giving, however, this is most likely something that your fellow employees don’t want to exchange, the dreaded flu. Having just experienced this sidelining virus myself, I must attest that my policyholders who I needed to visit, appreciated that fact that I didn’t come out to see them while I was sick. They graciously rescheduled our visit for the following week. Since there has been such an increase in flu cases, OSHA has provided a baseline infection control procedure for the seasonal flu. Employers should ensure that they have the most up-to-date information when making decisions about operations and planning.

What to do to protect yourself during flu season:

1) Vaccination is the most important way to prevent the spread of the flu

2) Stay at home if you are sick. The HHS/CDC recommends that workers who have a fever and respiratory symptoms stay at home until 24 hours after their fever ends (100 degrees Fahrenheit [37.8 degrees Celsius] or lower), without the use of medication. Not everyone who has the flu will have a fever. Other symptoms could include a runny nose, body aches, headache, tiredness, diarrhea, or vomiting.

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All State and Federal Labor Law posters have been mailed. If you did not receive them or need additional sets, please email Patty Allen at patricia.allen@mtmic.com/blog with requests for additional sets.

The MTMIC Marketing Staff are in the process of mailing out the updated State and Federal Labor Law Posters for 2015. Your company will be receiving them in the next couple of weeks. Contact Patty Allen at patricia.allen@mtmic.com/blog if you will be in need of more than one set of posters.

Please let us know if we can assist you in any manner and thank you for being a customer of MTMIC, we value your business.