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On Thursday, May 25 at 2PM ET, WCRI will be hosting a webinar that highlights the important design choices faced in adopting, reforming, and updating a workers’ compensation medical fee schedule.

With AI systems such as Chat GPT becoming increasingly popular, it may be time for risk managers to think about policies regarding the proper use of these technologies. Here’s what you can do to ensure that AI is utilized appropriately in the workplace.

The 18th annual survey on Prescription Drug Management in Workers’ Compensation uncovered some positive findings. Perhaps most notably, the report found that opioid spend continued to decline, with figures pointing to a 12.5% year-on-year drop. Additionally, opioids represented just 13.4% of all respondents’ pharmacy, the lowest figure in the history of this survey.

While generative AI has the potential to eliminate human jobs, it is currently most effective when used as a tool to enhance work done by humans. For example, when AI was used in a claims handling setting, it served not to conduct conversations or undertake complete tasks, but rather offer expert assistance to increase a task’s quality and accuracy.

As a result of existing planetary pollution, the negative weather patterns that have been examined in recent times may continue until the 2060’s, even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases today. Looking forward, risk managers can’t expect to prepare for this future by examining trends from the past – adopting a newer way of thinking is required to mitigate business-related climate challenges.

Developing trends require transportation companies to explore new ways of optimizing their operations as well as assessing how to successfully manage risk. As the industry continues to evolve, risk management will become an increasingly critical aspect in protecting their businesses, drivers, and clients. Doug Betkowski, SVP, Transportation Practice Leader, delves into why having the right expertise and partners in your corner is the safest bet.

As climate change continues to drive more catastrophes, the stakes for weather-related contingency planning keeps going up across the risk spectrum. Specifically, with the cost of yearly weather-related damage events steadily rising since the 1980’s, it is crucial that businesses’ post-incident recovery plans are maturing in accordance.

At the recent 2023 WCRI annual meeting, noted labor economist Dr. David Autor presented a thought-filled keynote on the future of work. While he covered a variety of topics throughout the presentation, one notable theme was that the patterns of risk that we associate with the workforce will continue to evolve in line with AI advancements and labor force shifts.

As hospitals continue to navigate COVID-19 induced financial issues, the concept of a “healthcare desert” is emerging as a very real topic of concern for millions of Americans in rural and sub-suburban locations. From a claims perspective, there is an increased need to constantly monitor critical availability and plan for contingencies to ensure that injured workers are receiving proper treatment. 

WCRI’s new report offers insights into providers who actively treat on-the-job injuries. This piece presents billing and treatment records and includes a great deal of information regarding the availability of medical care for occupational injuries.