Reporting of Data Base Sorting
Every two months, following the sorting of the data base, there should be a short meeting composed of your ergonomic task force. If you have not taken time to organize one or this is the first time you have thought of it, please take time to organize the structure right now.
Ergonomic Task Force:
If the task force has not been formed, there needs to be steps taken to do so with support of the floor and production workers.
This meeting should be a discussion of what can be done a little differently or changed, or added to reduce the number of complaints. Things such as different exercises, work station modification, etc. Each session does not have to be an earth shattering revelation requiring major fixture retooling. It should be an awareness as to the commitment of the company, along with the employees, in solving the problems in the workplace. As always, please take attendance by signatures at this meeting.
There should be a separate notebook that contains the minutes of the meetings, along with a copy of the biomechanical evaluation of the particular job site. In this way, there is a continual improvement mechanism that will facilitate effective change.
Human Resource/Gatekeeper
This position is obviously a crucial one, however it is somewhat dependent on the system that we have put in place: the supervisory response and the effectiveness of the chiropractor. Along with the support that is afforded by that chain of command, the HR person also depends on the support of this system from the production bosses.
From personal experience, I have seen tremendous savings in both dollars and suffering when the preventive medical management model is followed. Chiropractors have the greatest opportunity to work with the company during the phase of prevention medical control.
Another place that the gatekeeper loses control is at the doctor's office. If the employee has an appointment after work to see a doctor and has to wait an hour and a half, who do you think gets blamed? Ultimately the company will. "If I had to wait this long," thinks the employee, "how come I can't do it on company time." If people have to wait long periods on their own time you will lose control of them through dissatisfaction. The objective would be to become the problem solver between employee and doctor.
When the employee returns to the plant following the doctor visit, the first line of questioning should be to find out if the employee was satisfied with the treatment at the office. I would check several areas:
- How long did you have to wait?
- Was the doctor courteous to you?
- Did he say what was wrong with you? I would compare this answer with the report that you get.
If there is a potential problem in any area, especially the first two, I would pick up the phone in the employee's presence and tell someone at that office that it can't happen again. A small point but very important in the overall purpose in the medical management of the company. It further illustrates that the company cares about that individual. You will understand just how important this really does become in the preventive strategy of claims' management.
Another area that falls into the category of preventive claims' management is making sure that any temporary total disability payments that are due get paid on time. Chances are that you will have to pay them anyway, and it will increase your standing with the employee, or at least you can't be faulted on that point.
If you have lost a little control and an employee sees a certain doctor, I would again suggest that those bills be paid. The doctor's office will hound the patient and you do not want the bills going for collection if you can help it.
If there are any other costs associated with this, such as mileage to the doctor, etc., try to make sure that those expenses are reimbursed on a timely basis. These costs are a burden on the employee and chances are there are no extra funds available to handle these expenses.
As the treating physician working with the company, please be aware of how you can utilize preventive factors as a part of the treatment protocol. This information can be conveyed to the director of personnel so that he can also be aware of the valuable addition of your thoughts along these lines. Remember, a team effort by all concerned will allow the employee to have the best opportunity for recovery, and you, as the treating physician, the opportunity to provide that service.
Theodore Oslay, D.C.
DeKalb, Illinois
Editor's Note:
Dr. Oslay will be part of the faculty at the MPI 1993 Advanced Seminar, teaching "Industry Makes the Paradigm Shift Towards Chiropractic," on February 28 - March 5, 1993, in Kona, Hawaii. For information call 1-800-359-2289.
Click here for previous articles by Theodore Oslay, DC.