Safety and loss prevention are a cornerstone of the captives that Captive Resources supports. As such, we recommend and oversee a broad array of related services designed to help captive member companies control their losses.
One such service is Nurse Triage. If your company is not taking advantage of Nurse Triage, it’s missing a great opportunity to ensure proper care of injured employees, while minimizing workers’ compensation claims.
Nurse Triage is not case management; it occurs pre-claim and works like this: An injured employee comes to his/her supervisor and the supervisor calls the triage hotline. From there, the supervisor gives some very brief information to the RN on the line, who then speaks directly with the employee.
From our experience, and that of our friends at Medcor, the preeminent provider of Nurse Triage services, roughly 40 percent of the calls taken by the triage nurses DO NOT result in workers’ compensation claims. In most cases, the employee is given “self-treatment” instruction by the nurse, all based on medical protocols that are time tested and certified.
So, imagine if your emergency room visits could be reduced by 20 percent or even 40 percent. At an average cost of nearly $1,000 per medical-only claim, that adds up fast. With a cost per call of less than $100, the potential savings are significant.
Additional benefits include relieving supervisors of the job of playing triage specialist, instead, allowing a medically trained nurse, available 24/365, to assist the employee with self-treatment (where appropriate); and employees that know they will be treated well by a nurse who has no incentive or disincentive to keep them from an ER visit or send them to an ER — the nurse simply wants the best outcome for the employee.
