Psych Claims and Lord Voldemort

Until Harry Potter came along, the wizards in J.K. Rowling’s world never uttered the name of Lord Voldemort for fear of the consequences. They called him “He Who Must Not Be Named.”

When I embarked on my career in the workers’ comp world, oh so many years ago, “psych claim” was the phrase that must not be named. We drew a red line that ignored the fact that mental issues, although not directly related to the accepted physical injury, may impact duration, recovery and ultimate cost.

Louise Esola, writing in Business Insurance, introduces the reader to a couple of terms as follows:

Catastrophizing – for the injured worker, “thinking that the worst had happened and that he would only get worse;”

Biopsychosocial model – “referring to mental elements that can weigh heavily on the trajectory of a claim despite not being part of a compensable, physical injury.”

Dr. Marcos Iglesias, the medical director of Travelers Insurance, explains that the mental component of an injured worker’s claim may not be the insured’s problem, “but if you want to help the claim along, it might make sense to help the individual in the problems they are having.”

Doing better requires speaking the word.

Our nurse case managers do better by naming the early indicators of potential psychosocial issues that may affect outcomes and costs, and providing options to the claims team.

Call us. We can do better.

William Faris, JD
Chief Executive Officer
502-495-5040
william.faris@omca.biz
www.omca.biz

Posted in News