MedRisk’s 2021 Outlook Helps Payers Plan for Upcoming Year

MedRisk’s 2021 Outlook Helps Payers Plan for Upcoming Year

MedRisk, the leader in physical rehabilitation in workers’ compensation, has published its 2021 Outlook.

The industry trends report prepares payers for managing the effect COVID-19 has had on musculoskeletal claims, recaps pertinent 2020 legislative/regulatory actions, and highlights recent research.

“Researchers predicted it would take about 45 weeks to catch up with a backlog of surgeries and other medical procedures postponed because of COVID,” said COO Mary O’Donoghue. “Our data reflects this with significant fluctuations in post-surgical PT referrals as states closed and reopened, and this could happen again as cases spike.”

Post-surgical or not, some workers’ comp patients did not start or continue physical therapy during the pandemic. Soft tissue injuries that do not receive timely physical therapy treatment tend to have higher medical and indemnity costs than similar claims without delays in physical therapy treatment, according to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau-California October 2020 study, highlighted in MedRisk’s Outlook.

MedRisk moved quickly to facilitate fast time to treatment during COVID restrictions, leaning on its International Scientific Advisory Board to incorporate its metrics with CDC guidelines to help adjusters and patients decide if in-clinic or telerehabilitation care was most appropriate.

“We also expanded hours and the type of cases treated via telerehab, working closely with adjusters and network providers on necessary transitions,” said O’Donoghue. “We saw excellent outcomes and high levels of patient satisfaction.”

Depression, anxiety, and substance abuse rose significantly during 2020, according to the CDC and the American Medical Association. MedRisk’s data also showed a significant increase in self-reported anxiety and depression among injured workers. These psychosocial factors can result in delayed recovery.

“Insurers, TPAs and employers need to prepare for the long-term impact of COVID on the duration of care and total medical costs,” O’Donoghue said. “Our new predictive analytics platform and proactive interventions can help identify the high-risk patients and help reduce total claims cost – not just PT.”

About MedRisk

Based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, MedRisk is the largest managed care organization dedicated to the physical rehabilitation of injured workers. Clinically driven since its inception, the company has an International Scientific Advisory Board that developed and maintains physical medicine-specific, evidence-based guidelines for workers’ compensation.  MedRisk, which has successfully completed a SSAE 18 SOC Type 1 and 2 examinations, ensures high quality care and delivers outstanding customer service. For more information, visit www.medrisknet.com or call 800-225-9675.

MedRisk Patient Satisfaction Survey Leveraged in New Brazilian Low Back Pain Study

King of Prussia, PA (February 06, 2020)

Nearly 20 years after its inception, the MedRisk Instrument for Measuring Patient Satisfaction (MR-12) continues to be employed in international physical medicine research.

In addition to clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction can be a critical component of assessing treatment effectiveness.

Such was the case for a recent randomized control trial intended to measure electroacupuncture efficacy in older adults with low back pain (LBP). The 2019 study, conducted at the University of São Paulo in partnership with the Federal University of Paraná (both in Brazil), examined the study groups’ pain intensity levels as well as several secondary factors of patient experience. In the study team’s search for an objective, standardized tool to measure patient satisfaction, they chose to employ the MedRisk Instrument for Measuring Patient Satisfaction (MR-12).

Developed by MedRisk’s academic and research arm Expert Clinical Benchmarks (ECB), the MR-12 is a questionnaire that contains 20 items meant to capture the patient’s experience as it relates to treatment, the service provided and the therapist-patient relationship. Factors range from the interpersonal skills of the therapist and office staff to the education provided to patients to the convenience and cleanliness of the clinic.

While the questionnaire has been a vital tool in strengthening the MedRisk provider network and proprietary patient-to-provider matching system, its effects don’t stop there. Since its initial validation in the United States in 2001, the MR-12 has been translated and culturally adapted for specific populations around the world. To date, it has been utilized in more than 30 countries and has helped identify some of the key factors that positively influence satisfaction in the field at large.

To see just one example of the MR-12’s utility in contemporary physical medicine research, click here.

Statistic Spotlight: Groundbreaking Guideline Requires Nonsurgical Treatment of LBP

King of Prussia, PA (May 03, 2018)

A new assessment of lower back pain surgery is declared “often ineffective” by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.

A recent study has persuaded the Ohio agency that oversees the workers’ compensation program to reject spinal fusion surgery and opioid prescriptions as an early response to back pain. The change came about after research showed that spinal fusion surgery is “often ineffective,” and can lead to complications. In return, the complications may then result in increased opioid use.

The state now requires workers with occupation-related back injuries to participate in a minimum of 60 days nonsurgical care – including physical therapy – while avoiding opioids. 

Ohio is not the first state to diminish payments for surgery, however, they are the first to include a warning on the use of opioids. The 60-day approach is more aggressive than other states but is defended by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. This policy went into effect on January 1, 2018


News Now Staff. “Ohio Workers’ Comp Program Requires Nonsurgical, Nonopioid Treatment of LBP as a First Step.” APTA, 12 Jan. 2018, https://bit.ly/2wjMzEq.