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The 2022 Workers’ Comp Industry Insights Survey Report provides a broader and deeper view of what industry stakeholders are thinking, including detailed survey results and charts, insightful key findings, comparative perspectives by job roles and organization type, and more.
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reported organizational efficiency is top priority
say claims process automation is most important technology
concerned about changing workforce impact on industry
of claims professionals cite difficulty obtaining information from medical providers
Overview of Participants
498 industry stakeholders from across the workers’ comp industry responded to the survey.
PARTICIPANT ORGANIZATIONS
- Employer 113
- Insurance Carrier 74
- Brokerage 50
- Healthcare Provider 44
- State/Government Agency38
- Third Party Administrator 28
- Consultancy 26
- Law Firm 19
- Managed Care Organization 13
- Other 84
to Reveal Organizations
and Roles
PARTICIPANT INDIVIDUAL ROLES
- 134 Executive Leadership
- 71 Risk Management
- 46 Broker/Agent
- 46 Claims Leadership
- 26 Claims Professional/Adjustor
- 26 Clinical/Case Management
- 22 Legal/Regulatory
- 18 Medical Program Management
- 13 Healthcare Provider
- 3 Procurement
- 74 Other
Organizational Priorities
What are the top priorities for your organization in the next 3-5 years?
-
1
Employee retention, recruitment, and development
59% -
2
Operational efficiency
51% -
3
New business development
36% -
4
Improved customer experience
29% -
5
Cost containment
28%
Take Note
The top 2 priorities for managed care organizations were reversed with operational efficiency #1 and employee retention and recruitment #2.
Industry Resiliency
What factors impacting resiliency of the workers’ comp industry most concern you today?
-
1
Changing workforce/workplace
71% -
2
Regulatory/legislative changes
47% -
3
Outdated/legacy technological infrastructure
30% -
4
Cyber risk
24% -
5
Financial market instability
23%
Take Note
The changing workforce/workplace was the most concerning factor for all organization and job role types
Medical Program Priorities
What are the top priorities for your workers’ comp medical management program?
-
1
Manage patient chronic conditions/comorbidities
46% -
2
Solutions to support front-line claims decision support
41% -
3
Enhance analytics infrastructure/programs
41% -
4
Develop solutions to improve the patient experience
37% -
5
Virtual technology usage (provider tests, behavioral therapy, case management meetings)
30%
Take Note
Solutions to support front-line claims decision support was the #1 priority for executive and claims leaders, while managing chronic conditions was #1 for claims adjustors
Barriers to Recovery
What do you feel are the biggest barriers to injured worker recover?
-
1
Injured workers’ unfamiliarity with navigating workers’ comp system
56% -
2
Injured workers’ behavior/non-compliance
50% -
3
Comorbidities
44% -
4
Effective Care Coordination
38% -
5
Psychosocial Factors
36%
Take Note
Comorbidities was the #1 barrier to recovery for clinical/case managers and medical program directors
Visibility
Rank the items you want more visibility into
-
1
Injured worker medical history
-
2
Provider/vendor performance
-
3
Psychosocial Factors/Social Determinants of Health
-
4
Ancillary medical product and service prices
-
5
Provider/vendor fees
Take Note
Consultant firms and brokerages were the only organizations who differed, both ranking provider/vendor performance the #1 item they want more visibility into
Technology
Which technological advances will be most important to your workers’ comp medical program in the next 3-5 years?
-
1
Claims Process Automation
48% -
2
Telemedicine
47% -
3
Interoperability between disparate systems
33% -
4
Mobile Technology
33% -
5
Predictive/prescriptive analytics
31%
Take Note
Telemedicine was the most important technology for healthcare providers
Claim Complexity
Which types of claim complexity causes most concern you?
-
1
Mental health conditions
51% -
2
Comorbidities
46% -
3
Not detecting claim warning signs before they escalate
45% -
4
Undetected fraud
43% -
5
Injured worker opioid/substance abuse
40%
Take Note
Clinical case managers were most emphatic in their concern about mental health conditions with 73% citing it as a concern
Claims Professional Perspective
If you are a claims professional or adjuster, what obstacles (if any) do you face when facilitating medical care for injured workers?
-
1
Uncooperative/non-compliant injured workers
72% -
2
Difficulty obtaining information from medical providers
64% -
3
Difficulty reaching and/or obtaining information from injured workers
44% -
4
Communication barriers with injured workers
44% -
5
Outdated or inadequate claims processing system
40%
Take Note
Claims professionals who work for state/government agencies cited outdated or inadequate claims processing systems as their top obstacle