Telehealth: The Wait is Over

Telehealth delivers access to the work comp industry.

By: CorVel | November 2, 2015

From Early Intervention To Immediate Intervention

Reducing medical lag times and initiating early intervention are some of the cornerstones to a successful claims management program. A key element in refining those metrics is improving access to appropriate care.

Telehealth is the use of electronic communications to facilitate interaction between a patient and a physician. With today’s technology and mass presence of mobile devices, injured workers can be connected to providers instantaneously via virtual visits. Early intervention offers time and cost saving benefits, and emerging technology presents the capability for immediate intervention.

Telehealth creates an opportunity to reduce overall claim duration by putting an injured worker in touch with a doctor including a prescription or referral to physical therapy when needed. On demand, secure and cost efficient, telehealth offers significant benefits to both payors and patients.

The Doctor Will See You Now

Major healthcare players like Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield are adding telehealth as part of their program standards. This comes as no surprise as multiple studies have found a correlation between improved outcomes and patients taking responsibility for their treatment with communications outside of the doctor’s office. CorVel has launched the new technology within the workers’ compensation industry as part of their service offering.

“Telehealth is an exciting enhancement for the Workers’ Compensation industry and our program. By piloting this new technology with CorVel, we hope to impact our program by streamlining communication and facilitating injured worker care more efficiently,” said one of CorVel’s clients.

“We expect to add convenience for the injured worker while significantly reducing lag times from the injury to initiating treatment. The goal is to continue to merge the ecosystems of providers, injured workers and payors.”

— David Lupinsky, Vice President, Medical Review Services, CorVel Corporation

As with all new solutions, there are some questions about telehealth. Regarding privacy concerns, telehealth is held to the same standards of HIPAA and all similar rules and regulations regarding health information technology and patients’ personal information. Telehealth offers secure, one on one interactions between the doctor and the injured worker, maintaining patient confidentiality.

The integrity of the patient-physician relationship often fuels debates against technology in healthcare. Conversely, telehealth may facilitate the undivided attention patients seek. In office physicians’ actual facetime with patients is continually decreasing, citing an average of eight minutes per patient, according to a 2013 New York Times article. Telehealth may offer an alternative.

Virtual visits last about 10 to 15 minutes, offering more one on one time with physicians than a standard visit. Patients also can physically participate in the physician examination. When consulting with a telehealth physician, the patient can enter their vital signs like heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature and follow physical cues from the doctor to help determine the diagnosis. This gives patients an active role in their treatment.

Additionally, a 2010 BioMed Central Health Services Research Report is helping to dispel any questions regarding telehealth quality of care, stating “91% of health outcomes were as good or better via telehealth.”

Care: On Demand

By leveraging technology, claims professionals can enhance an already proactive claims model. Mobile phones and tablets provide access anywhere an injured worker may be and break previous barriers set by after hours injuries, incidents occurring in rural areas, or being out of a familiar place (i.e. employees in the transportation industry).

With telehealth, CorVel eliminates travel and wait times. The injured worker meets virtually with an in-network physician via his or her computer, smart phone or tablet device.

As most injuries reported in workers’ compensation are musculoskeletal injuries – soft tissue injuries that may not need escalation – the industry can benefit from telehealth since many times the initial physician visit ends with either a pharmacy or physical therapy script.

In CorVel’s model, because all communication is conducted electronically, the physician receives the patient’s information transmitted from the triage nurse via email and/or electronic data feeds. This saves time and eliminates the patient having to sit in a crowded waiting room trying to fill out a form with information they may not know.

Through electronic correspondence, the physician will also be alerted that the injured worker is a workers’ compensation patient with the goal of returning to work, helping to dictate treatment just as it would for an in office doctor.

In the scope of workers’ compensation, active participation in telehealth examinations, accompanied by convenience, is beneficial for payors. As the physician understands return to work goals, they can ensure follow up care like physical therapy is channeled within the network and can also help determine modified duty and other means to assist the patient to return to work quickly.

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Convenience Costs Less

Today, convenience can often be synonymous with costly. While it may be believed that an on demand, physician’s visit would cost more than seeing your regular physician; perceptions can be deceiving. One of the goals of telehealth is to provide quality care with convenience and a fair cost.

Telehealth virtual visits cost on average 30% less than brick and mortar doctor’s office visits, according to California state fee schedule. In addition, “health plans and employers see telehealth as a significant cost savings since as many as 10% of virtual visits replace emergency room visits which cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for relatively minor complaints” according to a study by American Well.

“Telehealth is an exciting enhancement for the Workers’ Compensation industry and our program. By piloting this new technology with CorVel, we hope to impact our program by streamlining communication and facilitating injured worker care more efficiently,” said one of CorVel’s clients.

Benefits For All

Substantial evidence supports that better outcomes are produced the sooner an injured worker seeks care. Layered into CorVel’s proactive claims and medical management model, telehealth can upgrade early intervention to immediate intervention and is crucial for program success.

“We expect to add convenience for the injured worker while significantly reducing lag times from the injury to initiating treatment,” said David Lupinsky, Vice President, Medical Review Services.

“The goal is to continue to merge the ecosystems of providers, injured workers and payors.”

With a people first philosophy and an emphasis on immediacy, CorVel’s telehealth services reduce lag time and connect patients to convenient, quality care. It’s a win-win.

This article was produced by CorVel Corporation and not the Risk & Insurance® editorial team.

CorVel is a national provider of risk management solutions for employers, third party administrators, insurance companies and government agencies seeking to control costs and promote positive outcomes.

How a Carrier Partner Can Help Navigate a Challenging Management and Professional Liability Market

A combination of a choppy economy with increased claims frequency and severity could lead to rate increases in the Management & Professional Liability market.

Rates in the management & professional liability (M&PL) markets were on the rise from 2020 to early 2023 and are now falling rapidly.

M&PL divisions manage a number of different insurance products including management liability (D&O), professional liability (E&O), employment practices liability (EPL), fiduciary liability policies, cyber, etc. In 2023 and into 2024, a big influence on the marketplace has been the extremely aggressive and softening public company D&O market.

Though these rates have been softening for management liability, that may change over the next few years as companies continue to adjust their business models motivated by economic uncertainty. Layoffs were up nearly 200% last year, Forbes reported, even as other recession indicators, like the inflation rate, improved. A recession could lead to an increased claim activity and force carriers to raise rates.

“Whenever there is a meaningful downturn in the economy, we tend to see claim frequency pop up,” said George Schalick, Jr., senior vice president of the Management and Professional Liability Division at Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY).

With continued fiscal uncertainty, businesses potentially already burdened with pandemic-related claims should seek a carrier with a long history in M&PL products. They will provide much-needed risk management guidance and be better positioned to support their insureds during market fluctuations.

Why Insureds Might See an Uptick in M&PL Claims

George Schalick, Jr., Senior Vice President of the Management and Professional Liability Division, Philadelphia Insurance Companies

The current soft market might come as a bit of a surprise as it does not track with previous underwriting cycles and economic conditions. Afterall, many privately held and non-profit organizations struggled during the early days of the pandemic with shutdowns and rapidly declining revenues. But the Government assistance programs, like the Paycheck Protection Program loans, helped keep many afloat during the tough times.

“During COVID many organizations stopped doing business until they were able to sort out all of the health and safety challenges,” Schalick said. “They were forced to lock down, but then all the government assistance programs allowed them to keep people employed. The increased volume of claims we anticipated we would see coming from the lockdowns and restrictions that were imposed upon businesses in the U.S. didn’t manifest at first.”

“Just because there wasn’t an onslaught of reported claims at the beginning of the pandemic, doesn’t mean the circumstances that would give rise to a claim being reported didn’t occur. Courts and the judicial system were closed or slowed and now that they are back open, we’re starting to see the circumstances that occurred during the COVID lockdowns becoming claims today,” Schalick said. “Litigation is progressing.”

Added to the delayed pandemic litigation is a concern over newer claims that might be filed as the country inches toward an economic downturn. Though a recession was avoided in 2023, experts think a soft dip could occur in 2024, with 76% of economists saying there’s a 50% or less chance of an economic downturn this year — that almost always results in more management liability claims.

“During the Great Recession in 2008, we saw an almost immediate spike in claims because of the economic conditions and the pressure it placed on organizations. They were making personnel changes with significant belt tightening almost immediately.” Schalick said.

What’s in Store for M&PL Policy Rates in 2024?

Despite an uptick in claims and increased economic uncertainty, management liability rates haven’t increased, resulting in market-wide pricing levels that may not meet the increased pressure of rising settlements and jury verdicts.

“Rates are going the other direction and settlement values are not falling,” Schalick said.

The mismatch between rates, claim frequency and severity is, in part, because carriers experiencing the dramatic soft market in the public D&O market are seeking premium gain in the private and non-profit market.

“In the public company market, the rates have been decreasing significantly. The rates were increasing in the private, not-for-profit market, and rightfully so, but there’s a desire to supplement overall mid-size D&O for carriers who also write private not-for-profit, and they see that as an opportunity to aggregate premium,” Schalick said. “So the always competitive landscape in the private, not-for-profit market has dramatically increased in the last 18 to 24 months.”

Still, companies of all sizes and types should be concerned about management liability rates in the future. Legal system abuse is resulting in increases in both the amount of litigation and the size of verdicts plaintiffs are receiving.

Certain areas of the country are particularly vulnerable to this type of legal system abuse. As a result, insureds in these localities are likely to be vulnerable to rate increases.

“The environment is so positive for the plaintiff that forces premium increases so carriers are able to stay in that market long term,” Schalick said.

Why a Tenured Carrier Partner Can Help Insureds Navigate An Uncertain Market

It’s clear that insureds are facing an uncertain M&PL market over the next few years. Fortunately, carriers with a long history in the M&PL space will be there to offer stability.

Philadelphia Insurance Companies has been supporting this market for 35 years. PHLY is committed to offering long-term rate stability, even as economic and claims trends start to push premiums upwards. They have an appetite for all sorts of companies, large and small, for-profit and nonprofit alike.

“We’ve been at this game for a long time and are one of the most tenured underwriters in this space,” Schalick said. “We like to stay very consistent.”

PHLY has worked with both for-profit and non-profit on management liability policies. With dedicated M&PL teams throughout the company’s 13 regions, PHLY provides the support agents and brokers are looking for on behalf of their clients. The teams know their regions well and can respond to local trends. They’re also dedicated to making the renewal process as easy as possible for their partners and policyholders.

“We have real confidence in our results, so we focus a lot on making the renewal experience as painless as possible for all agents and insureds,” Schalick said.

The company is also investing in tools to help insureds avoid losses. Earlier this year, they launched a new online risk management platform, PHLYGateway, which offers resources for insureds on how to create an employee handbook and trainings on issues such as recognizing workplace sexual harassment and discrimination.

If insureds have questions, they can consult a Best Practices Help Line, provided via the platform. That way, they can get on the spot risk management guidance to help them prevent claims.

To learn more, visit: https://www.phly.com/mplDivision/managementLiability/default.aspx.

This article was produced by the R&I Brand Studio, a unit of the advertising department of Risk & Insurance, in collaboration with Philadelphia Insurance Companies. The editorial staff of Risk & Insurance had no role in its preparation.

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