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The 2021 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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rank COVID-19 as top disruptor in 2020
report increased use of telemedicine
want more visibility into injured worker medical history
say injured workers’ unfamiliarity with workers’ comp is top barrier to recovery
Overview of Participants
602 industry stakeholders from across the workers’ comp industry responded to the survey.
PARTICIPANT ORGANIZATIONS
- Employer 110
- State/Government Agency77
- Insurance Carrier 67
- Healthcare Provider 63
- Third Party Administrator 49
- Brokerage 46
- Managed Care Organization 39
- Consultancy 40
- Law Firm 23
- Other 88
to Reveal Organizations
and Roles
PARTICIPANT INDIVIDUAL ROLES
- 113 Executive Leadership
- 99 Claims Leadership
- 83 Risk Management
- 51 Broker/Agent
- 38 Clinical/Case Management
- 37 Claims Professional/Adjustor
- 33 Medical Program Management
- 29 Legal/Regulatory
- 28 Healthcare Provider
- 3 Procurement
- 73 Other
- 15 Unknown
Disruptors
Rank the disruptors that had the most significant impact on your organization
- 1
COVID-19
- 2
Psychosocial Factors
- 3
Mental/Behavioral Health
- 4
Access to Care
- 5
Telehealth
Take Note
The #6 disruptor, cited by 17% of participants was interoperability between disparate systems. However, medical program managers ranked interoperability as their second most impactful disruptor.
Communication Barriers
Top barriers to communication between workers’ comp stakeholders
- 1
Communication channel type
- 2
Stakeholders not communicating
- 3
COVID-19
- 4
Difficulty obtaining information
- 5
Delays in communication
Take Note
Executive leaders focused on recent barriers citing COVID-19 and remote work as the top communication barriers, while other job role groups addressed more systemic issues.
Recovery Barriers
Top barriers to injured worker recovery
- 1
Injured workers unfamiliarity with navigating the workers’ comp system
- 2
Injured workers' attitude
- 3
Comorbidities
- 4
Effective care coordination
- 5
Access to timely/quality care
Take Note
Claims leaders differed from other job roles by selecting comorbidities as the #1 barrier to recovery.
Visibility
Items participants want more visibility into
- 1
Injured worker medical history
- 2
Provider/vendor performance
- 3
Ancillary medical product and service prices
- 4
Rx drug prices
- 5
Undetected risk indicators
Take Note
The #2 response for claims leaders was drug prices, while clinical/case managers chose prices for ancillary medical services (such as DME, home health) as their #2.
Warning Signs
Early warning signs of complex claims
- 1
Past claims
- 2
Severe or catastrophic injury
- 3
Comorbidities
- 4
Legal representation
- 5
Psychosocial factors
Take Note
Claims leaders and claims professionals had a different take, citing comorbidities as the #1 early warning sign.
COVID-19 Changes
Top changes organizations made in response to COVID-19
- 1
Increased use of telemedicine
- 2
Remote workforce
- 3
Video case management meetings
- 4
Use of telerehab for physical medicine
- 5
Virtual behavioral therapy
Take Note
All job roles said telemedicine was their #1 change with the exception of medical program managers who selected the closely related telerehab.
Technologies
Most important technological advances over the next 3-5 years
- 1
Telemedicine
- 2
Mobile technology
- 3
Predictive/prescriptive analytics
- 4
Interoperability between disparate systems
- 5
Artificial intelligence/machine learning
Take Note
Claims leaders and claims professionals separated from the pack again by ranking mobile technology ahead of telemedicine in importance.
Claim Complexities
Most concerning types of claim complexity
- 1
Not detecting early warning signs before they escalate
- 2
Comorbidities
- 3
Mental health conditions
- 4
Patient behavior
- 5
Undetected fraud
Take Note
Comorbidities was #1 for insurance carriers and TPAs and mental health conditions was #1 for MCOs and healthcare provider organizations.
The 2021 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.
Download The Full Report Now