Introduction

In the unfortunate event of an injury at your workplace, it is critical that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities when it comes to how best to respond. We are going to refer to this process as care management. This week we are going to provide an overview of how to implement an effective care management process in your workplace.

Monday – The Why

As usual we like to start off with why we are discussing this topic. There are multiple reasons to have an effective care management process. Today we will discuss a few:

• Ensures immediate and proper care for injured colleagues and contractors
• Reduces the stress of the situation because there is understanding of roles and responsibilities
• Helps identify the root cause of an incident and corrective actions to prevent occurrences
• Establishes a method for sharing lessons learned with the larger groups
• Demonstrates to your colleagues that your organization cares

Tuesday – The Process

Today we will discuss the elements of an effective care management process. Understanding the basic components can provide a framework to help your organization establish your own process.

• Immediate injury response
• Medical escort of an injured employee
• Notification within 24 hours of an incident
• Conduct an incident investigation to determine the who, what, when, where, why
• Have a “safety stand down” to bring the incident to the attention of those that may work in a similar situation where the incident occurred
• Hold a “hot seat” call to discuss the incident, corrective actions, support needed and collaborate with other groups who may have experienced a similar situation
• Support and communication across all groups involved
• Return to work plan
• Follow up support
• Establish long term sustainable corrective actions

Wednesday – When Does it Start?

Today we will discuss how to know when to start your care management process. It’s not always clear but here are a few triggers to signal it’s time to put your process is place:

• An employee suffers an acute injury
• An employee complains of an injury, pain or illness that may be work related
• An employee is observed to be in pain or discomfort
• A work-related activity aggravates a pre-existing condition
• An employee identifies a pre-existing condition or current injury, pain or illness that is not work related.

Thursday – Safety Triangle

Today we have a visual depiction of the safety triangle. The figure below shows what type of incidents are most common and most effectively held if corrected on the spot. For example, the bottom section includes safety opportunities which involves no injuries. If stopped at this level, the incident never becomes a near miss or escalates to involve an injury.  Correcting safety opportunities and near misses are proactive approaches, whereas correcting first aid incidents and above are reactionary but still very important. At these levels care management is needed.

Friday – Open Discussion

This week we’ve touched on the basics of an effective care management program. There are many deeper layers involved but hopefully this will provide a helpful framework. Now let’s open it up to the group to discuss your experiences or lack of experience with care management.

• Have you ever been injured at work?
• If so, what was the process? Did you receive proper care?
• What could have been done better?
• How is the current care management process in your workplace? Does one exist? How could it be improved?

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