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WORKERS��� COMPENSATION If an injury occurs at your practice, be sure to check in with the employee regularly and ask about the recovery process. ���Keep very close contact with the injured employee,��� suggests Burton. ���Check in often. Show you are concerned and see what you can do to keep the person���s spirits up. Make sure the right medical care is being offered. The worst thing that can happen is a disconnect between the emSTATE ASSISTANCE FOR WORKERS��� COMP ISSUES ployer and an injured employee that does How do you report workplace injuries and ���le claims? How do you not lend itself to a prompt rehabilitation and decide what doctors the injured worker may see? What are the return to work.��� requirements for notifying workers of their rights and responsibilities? Your business will bene���t even if a What size employer is exempt from x-mod calculations? returned employee can only perform light The answers to these questions vary by state. You can obtain duty. ���Employees who come back to work information about your state���s laws from the Internet. Go to the website early go to their doctors less and take fewer for the U.S. Department of Labor at dol.gov. Under ���Browse by Topic��� click on ���Workers��� Compensation.��� Then click on ���State Workers��� prescription drugs,��� says Peterson. ���Their Compensation Boards.��� Finally, click on the link for your state. minds becomes fully engaged at their work Additionally, the Insurance information Institute has posted helpful when they are not sitting at home thinking articles at iii.org. Click on ���Workers��� Compensation��� under Business about their injuries.��� Develop and impleTopics at the bottom of the page. ment a light duty program designed to blend injured workers back into the workforce as early as possible. The workers��� compensation system is not subject to The injured worker can also assist the practice in the same cost controls as the health insurance industry, preventing future accidents. ���Have him write a report and injured workers do not pay deductibles. For these on how the injury occurred and how it can be avoided reasons and many more, premiums are likely to go up in the future for all workers,��� suggests Peterson. ���Then further in the years ahead. have him bird dog the solution. Start to think of an ���No one knows what will happen once health care injured worker as a resource.��� reform takes hold,��� says Free. ���One might think that the legislation will cause claim costs to go down because Combating Fraud everyone will be insured. But there is a lot of uncertainty Fraud can contribute to rising workers��� compensation out there. Whatever happens, we can expect workers��� premiums. It can also cost practice owners money in va- compensation costs to become an even greater concern riety of other ways: the court time required for appeals, in the future.��� ME attorney fees, and the time and expense required to hire Phillip M. Perry is an award-winning journalist who covers replacement employees. a variety of small business-related topics. ���The great majority of claims are legitimate,��� says 46 MARCH/APRIL 2013 | MedEsthetics �� ISTOCKPHOTO.COM Getting Employees Back To Work Burton. ���Most are compensable and correctly ���led. But there are occasional outliers and they can be costly to the employer. In a time when everyone is competing in a global economy, the costs of fraudulent claims can make an employer less competitive. ���One of the best things you can do is use good interviewing techniques when hiring new employees,��� says Burton. Interviews should assess the work background and history of the applicant and the person���s attitude toward work. ���Also, educate managers to be mindful for things that might be suspicious,��� adds Burton. ���And educate your employees and managers on these topics. Make sure they understand that any time you add more costs to a business, it makes the business less competitive and may result in an employer eliminating positions due to increased expenses.��� Workers��� compensation ���lls a vital need for employers by protecting them from lawsuits brought by injured workers. The system also ensures employees receive compensation for a portion of lost wages and medical costs resulting from workplace injuries.