Recently in obesity Category

Drug costs continue to grow as a significant portion of the work comp spend. Kevin Glennon, vice president of clinical services at Total Medical Solutions, often lectures on the importance of taking precautions in regards to drugs and work comp, particularly on complex claims. Why? Because there is a greater risk for the claim and the costs to spiral out of control.

What to do? Kevin suggests:

• regular, periodic re-evaluation of drugs prescribed
• watch for contraindications
• consult with the prescribing physician(s) to determine future needs and adjustments
• set up a tracking system to monitor use of prescribed drugs
• is the patient obese? pursue options for weight loss to improve outcomes and for a significant reduction of costs spent on drugs

Some recent alerts from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on certain drugs:

FDA Limits Acetaminophen (Tylenol) Usage, Warns of Liver Toxicity

Watch this video about acetaminophen: 

Kevin says:watch out for new drug Abstral (fentanyl) , FDA just approved for breakthrough cancer pain. He warns of history with other opioid analgesics such as Oxycontin and Actiq.

FDA Warns of Potential Liver Damage with use of dronedarone (Multaq) used for patients with abnormal heart rythym or risk of heart failure.

Another area to watch is physician dispensing of drugs -- it is a fast-growing trend in work comp. Joe Paduda covers this topic often on his blog. Read his recent post titled: Physician dispensing in work comp - worse than you think. He includes reference to a new study just out by NCCI on the topic. Be sure to read his follow up post and bookmark for future coverage of this topic.

Cara Barde, President of Total Medical Solutions is proud of her employees. So why is she calling them Big Fat Total Losers? Because they are! A story on the front page of the Orlando Sentinel yesterday confirmed it. Read Sanford company gets leaner - in a positive way.

Total Medical Solutions launches it's very own Biggest Loser contest.

These days, employees at Total Medical Solutions are talking about weight. That's because they have launched their very own version of The Biggest Loser contest. Twenty five (25) out of seventy one (71) employees signed up for the contest and after 12 weeks have lost a total of 400 pounds!

Incentives vary, but success is total.

Nancy Perez, Home Health Account Coordinator for Total Medical Solutions, found that being accountable to her teammates made all the difference for her. She has lost 37 pounds. The fact that her teammates are counting on her provides the incentive she needs to stay focused and committed to the program.

Paulette Howard, also a Home Health Account Coordinator, has lost 47 pounds. She admits that at first she wasn't really interested in the contest. She had tried Weight Watchers before and found that it really didn't work for her. She did, however, jump at the chance for a cash prize. After getting into the program she found that cash really wasn't the thing that motivated her. She says, "It's the camaraderie that I've developed with my new 'loser' friends."  

Kevin Glennon, Vice President of Clinical Services for TMS, often lectures company executives about the added costs of obesity in workers' compensation claims. He has lost 68 pounds.

Wellness programs: a good way to address obesity?

As the writer of the Orlando Sentinel article points out, obesity is a big problem for Americans. Obesity rates have steadily climbed over the past few decades and it is well documented that obesity complicates other health risks and issues. Personalized corporate wellness programs like these are likely to become more popular as corporate America embraces the idea coupled with incentives provided by the new healthcare reform.

NCCI reports that there is growing evidence that obesity not only contributes to the cost of medical care in workers' compensation, but that it is "significant in magnitude." They point to a recent study of workers' compensation claims of Duke University employees, where it shows for the morbidly obese, the medical costs per 100 full-time employees are nearly seven times more than for employees of recommended weight. The study also discusses how costs increase significantly as the claims mature. See the NCCI Full Study "Reserving in the Age of Obesity."  NCCI continues to study obesity and says it is an important trend to watch as it relates to workers' compensation claims.  They expect to publish a new full study in early 2010. Check their website often for updates on this important topic. www.ncci.com

Another study on obesity, conducted by Johns Hopkins (Bloomberg School of Public Health) published in May of 2007, shows similar findings, and in particular, that obesity increases the risk of traumatic workplace injuries.