WAR declared

Ohio businesses and its work force will forever remember Feb. 1 as the day the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) declared war. We declared war against workplace injuries during the Public Employer Work Place Safety Summit in Columbus.

Last year's statistics on workplace injuries left us no choice but to launch an offensive against this enemy of employers and employees.

• Employers lost more than 2.7 million production days due to injuries.
• Lost days on the job translated into $220 million in lost productivity.
• Workplace injuries cost employers $1.7 billion in direct workers' compensation costs.

We are prepared for this offensive. To ensure victory, we've assembled our allies, employers, managed care organizations (MCOs), medical providers and unions, and outlined all of our strategic maneuvers. The first of these is safety.

Starting with safety

The workplace accident reduction war begins with a safety campaign spearheaded by BWC's Division of Safety and Hygiene. The division helps employers devise effective safety strategies and provides research, education, publications, local informational networks and on-site consulting to employers all for FREE.

The safety offensive is just one of our strategies to win the war against injuries. We've also established a five-point plan of attack to support the safety offensive by establishing new relationships with doctors and medical providers, rewarding employers who run safe workplaces and opening new opportunities for those injured on the job.

Point one -- return to work
Ohio has adopted a cutting-edge model for return to work that measures success at the individual level.

An injured worker's physician and MCO will work together to determine the optimal return-to-work date to full or modified duty, based on the injury and type of work.

Point two -- presumptive authorization
In another first for workers' compensation, we've implemented a process that nearly eliminates the need for a medical provider to receive prior authorization before treating an injured worker up to 45 days after the injury.

Point three -- remain at work
The best way to avoid the need to return to work is to remain at work. A workplace injury does not have to mean a long absence from work. The goal today is to provide early intervention and minimize the number of days an employee is away from the job. The employer's MCO will manage these services.

Point four -- vocational rehabilitation services
MCOs work with injured workers, employers and medical providers with the goal of an optimal return-to-work date. If an injured worker has not returned to the job 30 days after the optimal return-to-work date, BWC and MCO staff will work together to ensure the injured worker gets the vocational rehabilitation he or she needs to pave the way for safe return to work.

Point five -- transitional work grants
BWC's Transitional WorkGRANT$ program provides up to 80 percent of program development costs to eligible employers who develop a transitional work program for their employees. Employers' remaining 20-percent investment may save them thousands of dollars in disability costs.